


Overcast Skies

by Ocearna



Series: Overcast Universe [2]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, author likes to talk in the comments, cloudy!tsuna, shigure kintoki is not just a transforming sword, weird Flame theories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-23 11:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23577199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ocearna/pseuds/Ocearna
Summary: Skies are meant to be social creatures. So when they are rebuffed and bullied time and time again sometimes things go a bit... sideways.Tsuna meets Hibari as a kid, before the Seal, and the effects ripple ever outwards.Reborn arrives in Namimori only to find out the hard way that his information is slightly wrong and he's going to have to redo all his plans. It'sfascinating.Hibari is just trying to protect Namimori from all these stupid herbivores.
Series: Overcast Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1702087
Comments: 506
Kudos: 1409





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "posting before I lose my nerve" is becoming a habit. oops.
> 
> I was thinking about Clouds and Skies and then I wondered what a Cloudy Sky would be like and then this happened. there might be more?? I have an idea or two. no guarantees though. (edit 14/4/20: I now have many ideas. it's mildly terrifying)
> 
> enjoy!

_Skies are social creatures. That is a well-known fact among Flame users. A less known fact is that when a Sky child doesn't get the social interaction they crave, especially if most of the social interaction they do get is negative, then sometimes things start to go a bit... sideways._

_Tsunayoshi Sawada was a Sky. And then he was Sealed, and he became clumsy, and then the other children started to pick on him. And slowly he became clumsier and clumsier and started to draw away from other children. Slowly he forced himself to not care about playing with other children, to not care about socialising, and to not care about having friends. Slowly he began to prefer his own company and his own space._

_Slowly, his Flames started to_ change.

* * *

Tsuna sees the little hammock strung up in one corner of his room and freezes.

“What is that?”

Reborn glances up at it from where he had been setting out Tsuna’s homework, then turns to smirk at his student. “A hammock, dame-Tsuna.”

The brunette’s expression - until now only ever scared or sad or tired around Reborn - twists into the first real sign of anger that Reborn has seen. At the same time _something_ in the air changes; a hint of pressure, not quite there but _trying_ to be. Reborn straightens, smirk slipping slightly as he eyes his student. 

“What is it doing in _my_ room?” Tsuna hisses. Reborn almost likens it to a kitten trying to be frightening but… no. There’s a hint of something in Tsuna’s tone and expression that makes him think of a wounded lion, tired and injured and with no strength left but still trying to _protect_. 

Protect what though?

Reborn reaches up to tilt his fedora down over his eyes and Leon, always the perfect partner, skitters around the brim of his hat to touch his hand, ready to transform if something goes wrong.

“I’m your tutor, dame-Tsuna, but I’m also your bodyguard. After all, even if the Vongola try to keep quiet about you being named heir, at some point people will find out and they will start sending assassins after you.” Reborn glances up from under the brim of his fedora, watching carefully for what reaction this news will get him. “You’re most defenceless when asleep and it’s easier to guard you if I’m close by. Therefore, I’ll be sleeping in here for the foreseeable future.”

Tsuna’s reaction is… not what Reborn would have expected. Not five minutes ago anyway. But now, watching the way Tsuna’s hands clenched until the knuckles go white and his eyes glint with anger and determination and a tiny but impressive spark of _fire_ … No, Reborn can’t afford to assume anymore.

“ _No_ ,” comes the hissed response. “No, you are _not_ sleeping in _my_ room.”

“Tsuna--” Reborn tries, but is quickly cut off.

_“No!”_

Tsuna lurches towards Reborn a step, his fists raising slightly. 

“You will _not_ sleep in my room! Not even Mama comes in here without asking, and she doesn’t touch anything! This is _my_ room, my _home_ , and I will not share it with some psycho baby I’ve _only just met!_ ” 

Silence reigns for a moment as Reborn considers his student. Tsuna pants, body language still aggressive and angry. The tiniest hint of his Flames swirls around him, the Seal holding tight and barely letting a wisp escape. It’s enough though for Reborn to confirm the theory he had been slowly building over the last few minutes.

What to do though? Tsuna couldn’t hope to even touch Reborn in a fight, so Reborn could easily overwhelm and overrule Tsuna and stay. But… Reborn had met enough Flame Actives of this kind of temperament to know that pushing Tsuna too far right now would destroy any hope of a good relationship with his student, possibly forever. And really, unless someone had been stupid enough to follow Reborn to Japan, Tsuna was fairly safe right now. Reborn could just leave a couple of bugs in Tsuna’s room, take the spare bedroom that Nana had originally offered him, and work on getting Tsuna to accept him later.

After all, invading a Cloud’s territory uninvited was probably one of the stupidest things you could do. Even if the Cloud was really a Cloudy Sky. 

“Alright,” Reborn says with a put-upon sounding sigh. He doesn’t want to sound too agreeable after all otherwise Tsuna might get the idea that he can tell Reborn what to do. “I’ll move to the spare bedroom. But you _will_ let me bug your room so I can hear if something goes wrong.” 

Reborn glares up at Tsuna, voice strong to show he won’t back down on this. Tsuna stares back for a moment, confused by Reborn suddenly yielding. Then he blinks and slumps, hands unclenching and shoulders sagging. The feel of the room changes too, and Reborn makes a note of how Tsuna’s Sky Flames feel when they aren’t edged in Cloud.

“Good,” Tsuna mutters, exhaustion suddenly weighing down his words. “That’s… good.” And then, like a puppet when its strings are cut, he stumbles back a few steps and collapses back onto his bed. “In that case, I’m just… gonna sleep now.”

Amused but also worried by what looks like a side-effect of the Seal, Reborn watches his newest student pass out almost immediately. Exhaustion from over-use of Flames is common, but it shouldn’t happen that quickly or from that little use. Definitely something to work on over the coming weeks and months. 

Leon dropped a couple of bugs into Reborn’s hand then scampered away to go eat the hammock and the few other personal things Reborn had scattered around Tsuna’s room. It is the work of minutes for Reborn to finish bugging the room - truthfully, he had already placed some bugs but he wanted more if he couldn’t be in the room personally - and for Leon to gather everything up. Then, Leon scuttled back onto the brim of Reborn’s hat and the hitman turned to leave Tsuna’s room.

Reborn took one last look around the room as he closed the door, noting how Tsuna had turned to cuddle a pillow in his sleep. It made for a cute picture, so very different from how Tsuna had looked only minutes ago. The thought of what Tsuna’s Flames would feel like when they were properly released and the chaos that would follow… Reborn grinned, glee and anticipation and danger in every line of his expression. This contract was going to be _fun._

“Good night, Cloudy-Tsuna.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> world-building exposition, yay. this includes theories about Flames and such from Araceil and Reighost and others so all credit to them for the relevant sections. they are gods among mortals; I'm just playing in the sandbox they created.
> 
> honestly, world-building isn't my favourite thing and I don't think I'm very good at it, but this insisted on being written before anything else so here we go. in better news, this gave me some ideas so :D
> 
> thank you to those who commented on the first chapter! I was super surprised and extremely happy to see so many comments so quickly. I'll be responding soon, but y'all made me wanna write so I figured I'd do that first :P

Reborn had not been expecting a Cloudy Sky.

Considering the profile CEDEF had given him, he had thought he might find a Rainy Sky (prone to laziness and depression which would explain Tsuna’s grades, but also prone to fixation so easy to teach with the right motivation) or a Lightning Sky (lazy without a target or a goal, also prone to all kinds of moods). He had even considered a Stormy Sky (social but abrasive and non-conforming, might have explained the bullies and grades) or a Misty Sky (Mist boredom with school would explain the grades and Mist oddities might cause the bullies). Even an inverted Sun secondary fit some of the profile. 

He hadn’t even considering that Tsuna might be Cloudy.

Cloudy Skies were  _ rare _ . Clouds, in general, were rare and Skies even less so. Plus there was the problem that most Clouds didn’t make it to adulthood due to their own dangerous tendencies and distinct lack of a self-preservation instinct. On top of  _ that _ , Skies were usually social creatures and traditional Clouds weren’t, so the combination rarely made sense. Reborn had briefly considered Tsuna being an Inverted Cloud, but Inverted Clouds usually claimed people as their territory, and dealt with minor infractions better (although they might forgive but they never forgot). Tsuna’s territory was apparently a  _ place _ and his reaction had been pure unadulterated anger. That meant he was most likely a classic Cloud. And a Sky.

That was the rarest combination, and it was also the worst.

Reborn really wanted to shoot someone right now.

This meant that he needed to redo all of his training plans. Barging into Tsuna’s room in the mornings to wake him up would probably just make Tsuna even more stubborn about not doing what Reborn wanted him to do. And studying in Tsuna’s room using Reborn’s usual methods was definitely out of the picture. Damaging a Cloud’s territory was the quickest way to end up on their kill list after all.

Which reminded Reborn that he should figure out how far Tsuna’s territory extended and what it covered. If he needed to move his usual shenanigans outside that was fine but it would be good to know exactly where the line was. If only because toeing it would be a good way to teach Tsuna to keep his head when his instincts were blaring at him.

Speaking of instincts…

Reborn had spent some time scoping out Namimori before coming to the Sawada residence, and he had noticed a Cloudy teen who seemed to run the local gangs. And, well, almost everything else. Clouds usually didn’t share though. Especially classic Clouds, which both Tsuna and the other teenager appeared to be. And as far as Reborn knew, they weren’t at each other’s throats like Clouds usually would be when too close to each other, which meant they had some kind of agreement in place. Maybe he should ask Tsuna about that… or maybe he should leave it until Tsuna had relaxed around him more. Probably the latter. Not antagonising the baby Cloud for a while would make his job a lot easier in the future. Even if it would be a lot less entertaining.

Oh well. Reborn had a feeling that he wouldn’t be short on entertainment in the near future. Training and finding Guardians for a Cloudy Sky was going to be quite the adventure, not to mention watching the reactions of the rest of the Vongola and the Alliance when they realised just what kind of person the Vongola Decimo was. If Reborn hadn’t been warned about Tsuna’s Flames then the Vongola probably didn’t know either, and that was going to be quite the surprise. 

Of course, Reborn  _ could _ warn them… But, no. They hadn’t done their research properly and had given him bad information, so they could pay the price for it. The chaos it would cause would be lovely to watch.

That was all far off in the future though. For now, Reborn needed to revise his lesson plans and tutoring strategies to take “territorial Cloud” into account. 

Perhaps inviting Smoking Bomb to attack Tsuna was a bad idea? Although, as long as the confrontation happened outside of Tsuna’s territory it should be fine. Perhaps even at the school, so Reborn could see how the other Cloud would react…

Reborn smirked, the anticipation of the chaos that was to come filling his eyes with an unholy light. 

This was going to be  _ fun _ .


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahaha two chapters in one day, oops. seriously, these drabbles are basically writing themselves. I love it.

Convincing dame-Tsuna to get up early in the morning was  _ not _ easy. Especially since Reborn was trying to respect that Tsuna’s room was the core of his territory and he obviously really didn’t like anyone invading it. He had a plan though: to use Tsuna’s Cloudy instincts against him until the brat would get up in the morning without Reborn constantly needing to pester him.

* * *

Reborn commenced his plan on his second day at the Sawada residence, just after they had all finished dinner and Nana had taken the plates to the kitchen. 

“Tsuna, we will be training at 5 AM tomorrow morning. You had better be up and ready in time,” he said, staring at his student from where he stood on the opposite side of the table.

Tsuna turned to blink at him, expression showing nothing but confusion. “Eh? 5 AM? Why?”

Reborn made a note to also work on Tsuna’s elocution. 

“Because I said so,” he replied, his tone brooking no argument. “You can either be awake and waiting downstairs, or I will come into your room and wake you up.”

That got a reaction. Tsuna’s expression sharpened, his posture straightened and when he spoke his voice had a hint of the aggression he had shown off on that first night. “You will  _ not _ come into my room.”

Reborn didn’t even bother with a proper response. Instead, he turned his back, hopping down from the table to leave the room. He knew that it would probably rile up Tsuna - most Clouds didn’t like being treated like they weren’t a threat - but he was gambling on that irritation being enough to convince Tsuna to get up in the morning to avoid his room being invaded.

“5 AM. Not a minute later.”

* * *

Tsuna was not awake at 5 AM. Reborn had even been kind enough to give him an extra minute, but when he couldn’t hear any movement from Tsuna’s room after a minute he decided to stop being nice.

Sure enough, Tsuna hadn’t even changed his alarm and was still fast asleep. A few hits of a Leon-mallet fixed that, and then Reborn managed to get Tsuna dressed and out the door with minimal grumbling and fighting.

Thankfully by the time Reborn’s transgression clicked in Tsuna’s brain he was in the middle of being chased around the neighbourhood by several dogs and didn’t have the time or energy to be angry at Reborn.

* * *

That night, once again straight after dinner, Reborn gave Tsuna the same ultimatum. 

“5 AM on the dot or I’ll come in to wake you up again.”

* * *

The following morning, Tsuna was once again not ready at 5 AM. However, Reborn had heard an alarm go off ten minutes before so at least Tsuna had tried. Obviously the alarm hadn’t done much though, as when Reborn opened Tsuna’s door at 5:01 he noticed that Tsuna had fallen back asleep, one hand still resting against the alarm clock’s sleep button.

Reborn chose to wake Tsuna up with an electric shock that morning, hoping it might leave a more lasting impression. 

* * *

For the next few days, Reborn would give Tsuna the same ultimatum after dinner and in the morning Tsuna’s alarm would go off at ten minutes to 5 but he would just turn it off and go back to sleep. 

Then one morning Reborn pushed open Tsuna’s door at 5:01 AM expecting the usual only to see Tsuna sitting up in bed, blearily rubbing at his eyes. When Tsuna registered Reborn’s presence in the doorway he froze, and the two stared at each other for a few moments.

“Dame-Tsuna,” Reborn started, voice calm but strong, “you have 10 seconds to get out of bed before I come in and drag you out.”

Tsuna continued to stare, hands falling into his lap and his eyes flicking from Reborn to the line of the doorway that he was standing just beyond. Reborn counted the seconds, his gaze not wavering from Tsuna’s face, and when he reached zero Reborn took a single step forward and into Tsuna’s room.

That was enough for Tsuna to throw back the covers and quickly jump out of bed. He scampered across the room to gather up clothes then disappeared into the bathroom, throwing a half-asleep glare at Reborn before closing the door.

Reborn took that as his cue to take a step back, crossing once more into the hallway. The barely-there wisps of Flames in Tsuna’s room relaxed, the hints of Cloud fading under the stronger Sky Flames. 

He would give Tsuna three minutes before he would barge in to hurry up his lazy student.

* * *

The next day Tsuna slept through his alarm again, but the day after that he was at least out of bed when Reborn opened the door, if not quite ready. Over the following week the threat of Reborn invading if he wasn’t ready in time slowly seemed to win out against Tsuna’s love of sleep. Reborn also made sure he was very consistent about how much he invaded Tsuna’s room in the morning. The earlier Tsuna got up and the closer he was to ready when Reborn came knocking, the less Reborn invaded. It was as simple as that.

Some days Tsuna would backslide, either being too slow in the morning or sleeping through his alarm entirely. But then one day, almost two weeks into Reborn’s stay at the Sawada’s, Reborn went to open Tsuna’s door only for it to open before he could touch it. Reborn craned his neck up to stare at Tsuna, all dressed and ready to go but currently blinking down at Reborn in slightly dazed confusion. 

“Morning,” Tsuna mumbled, hand still on the doorknob and half-hidden by the partially open door.

Reborn reached up to tilt his fedora down, shadowing his amused eyes. “Good morning, Dame-Tsuna,” he replied, stepping back out of the doorway so Tsuna could get past him. “It’s time to start today’s training.”

And as Tsuna grumbled but stepped forward, closing the door behind him, and proceeded down the stairs, Reborn grinned. It always felt good when a plan succeeded. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this got long >_> and once again I find that the longer the chapters get the less I like them so uhh, this probably won't happen too often
> 
> I was originally going to write about Tsuna meeting Gokudera next, but then @Master_Torch_Master and @DearCat and I were chatting in the comments and they made me want to write about Hibari so here you are! hopefully this all makes sense for their characters. characterisation is hard >_<

Watching Tsuna at school is very different now that Reborn knows about Tsuna’s secondary Flames. So many little things that Reborn had brushed off the day before now took on new meaning and became very important. And very confusing.

For example, the Disciplinary Committee - run by that other Cloud Reborn was also keeping an eye on - treated Tsuna slightly differently to everyone else. Previously Reborn had chalked it up to Tsuna’s reputation, considering how everyone including even the teachers treated him, but now, watching how the DC members carefully didn’t interact with Tsuna… Reborn was starting to see a very different picture.

After brainstorming theories the night before, Reborn had assumed that Tsuna and the Hibari Cloud would not get along. Two Clouds, especially two classic Clouds, living in the same area should not work. It _didn’t_ work, in every single case that Reborn had seen or heard of. And yet, all the evidence told him that the opposite was true for these two particular Clouds.

There was also the fact that the DC obviously patrolled pretty much all of Namimori, but by the time Tsuna left for school on Reborn’s second day in Namimori he hadn’t seen any of them come closer than two blocks to the Sawada house. It could be that they just hadn’t gotten to that area yet, but Reborn’s bugs had reported patrols on all sides last night. The DC members had just never come within that very specific radius. 

Then, when Tsuna arrived at Namimori Middle, he was ignored by the DC members at the gate who were checking everyone’s uniform. Yesterday Reborn had put it down to the DC having given up on Tsuna, considering his shirt was so creased he obviously never put any effort into being tidy. But today he saw how one of the committee members looked at Tsuna not with annoyance or resignation but with… something like relief? 

The morning classes gave Reborn no new clues. Tsuna seemed just as lazy and uninterested as he had been yesterday, and didn’t even respond when a teacher started to taunt him about his score on a recent assignment. A true Cloud would have reacted in _some_ way, so obviously Tsuna’s Cloud instincts weren’t at the forefront during school. That implied that his Cloud Flames only came out to play sometimes, rather than being a constant undercurrent like some people’s secondary Flames. Though that might change when the Seal broke.

The third clue came when Tsuna - who had eaten his lunch in the classroom the day before - apparently decided to head to the roof for lunch. 

The roof that nobody ever went near because everyone knew it was the favourite spot of a certain violent prefect. 

_What._

Reborn had been watching Tsuna from a tree outside when the lunch bell rang and his student had stood up, gathered his lunch, then left the room. He had followed Tsuna’s progress from the outside using a Leon-copter and when he figured out where Tsuna was heading, Reborn went ahead and landed on the far side. Leon quickly turned into a microphone and headphone set, to help Reborn hear what happened without having to get too close. 

From the first moment they were in the same space, it was obvious that both Clouds were aware of each other’s presence. Tsuna’s body language was careful yet determined as he opened and closed the door to the roof gently, ensuring it made the absolute minimum noise. Up on the stairwell roof, Hibari tensed up where he lay, uncurling his body slightly so he could leap up quickly if needed. His eyes remained closed though, feigning sleep.

When he realised where Tsuna was going, Reborn had expected Tsuna to cross to the other side of the roof, far away from Hibari, and sit down to eat. What he didn’t expect was for Tsuna to climb up a few rungs of the ladder beside the door, just until he could see over the top, and then place his bento, still wrapped, in the space between the two of them.

“Thank you for dealing with the supermarket thieves,” Tsuna murmured, still perched halfway up the ladder. “Mama was relieved to hear they were caught.”

Hibari hummed, eyes finally opening and head turning to look at Tsuna.

“There was no damage, right?” Tsuna continued.

Hibari stared for a moment, barely blinking. Then, “Tetsuya is dealing with it.”

Reborn couldn’t see much of Tsuna’s face from this angle, but from what he could see and from Tsuna’s tone of voice, he thought Tsuna was frowning.

“One of yours?” Tsuna asked.

Another hum, this time with a negative tone. “One of the herbivores had a bat.”

Surprisingly, that got a growl. From Tsuna. Reborn was tempted to reach out with his Flames to see if he could feel that Cloudy edge that Tsuna’s Sky flames had gained the other night, but he opted to remain hidden. Tsuna might not have much control over his Flames, but the other Cloud was strong enough that he would definitely notice the foreign Flames.

That did make him very good Guardian material though...

Tsuna interrupted Reborn’s thoughts by asking, “Did any of yours get injured?”

Another negative hum as Hibari rolled slightly so his body was facing Tsuna more. 

“That’s good,” Tsuna replied, his smile obvious in his tone. “And, Hibari,” Tsuna’s tone softened and he reached out to push the wrapped bento a bit closer to the other teen, “thank you, even if there was damage.”

Hibari continued to stare for a moment then, like a big cat rising from a nap, he stretched and slowly sat up, pulling the bento closer at the same time. Reborn expected that to be the end of the interaction between the two Clouds - giving Clouds presents as thanks was a fairly common strategy - but Tsuna didn’t move. Instead, he stayed on the ladder, watching as Hibari unwrapped the bento to reveal two containers. 

“Steak?” Hibari muttered, picking up one of the containers and putting it to the side, then re-wrapping the other container. 

“Of course,” Tsuna replied, tone even brighter. “Mum was making it the other night, so I asked her to make extra.” 

Another hum and Hibari pushed the wrapped bento towards Tsuna. And without another word, the Sky picked it up, climbed down the ladder and finally did what Reborn had expected him to do - cross to the other side of the roof, sit down against the fence and quietly eat his lunch.

* * *

Tsuna had just started walking home when Reborn decided it was a good time to interrogate his student. Most Clouds appreciated directness after all, and often Skies did too.

“How do you know Hibari Kyoya?” Reborn asked, leaping onto Tsuna’s shoulder from the wall he had been walking on. The move gained him a flinch - very un-Cloud like - and Tsuna jolted to a stop as his head snapped around to stare at the Arcobaleno on his shoulder.

“Hiiie, Reborn!?” Tsuna screeched and oh boy, that sound was even more annoying at close range. Also very not like a Cloud. Hmm. “Why are you asking about Hibari?”

“You were talking to him at lunch,” Reborn offered, not willing to explain the rest of his reasons. “Considering his reputation, I didn’t think you would be willing to go anywhere near him.”

Tsuna stared for a few moments longer, slightly wild-eyed, before his shoulders slumped and he focused forward and started walking again. “Hibari is fine once you get to know him. Most people just don’t treat him right.”

“How should they treat him?”

Tsuna glanced at Reborn again but this time his gaze was slightly different. There was a glint of something wilder in his eyes now. Something almost… protective.

“Hibari sees everyone as either ‘someone who needs to be protected’, ‘someone who could be trained to protect themselves’ or ‘someone who can protect themselves’. That’s why he made the Disciplinary Committee - to train those who can be trained and to protect those who need protecting. As long as you don’t mess with either of those groups, he’ll mostly leave you alone.”

That was… not what Reborn expected. In fact, that sounded like…

“What about his dislike of noise and crowding?”

Tsuna rolled his eyes as if tired of people not understanding - or of having to explain this repeatedly. “Hibari has really good senses, and he’s always watching and listening for problems. Of course he doesn’t like noise. And the crowding, well...” Tsuna frowned slightly. “People tend to do stupid things when they’re in large groups, so he likes to break them up before that happens.”

…

Herd mentality?

Was Tsuna saying that Hibari outlawed gathering in groups because of _herd mentality?_

“What kinds of stupid things, Dame-Tsuna?” Reborn poked, wanting more evidence to confirm his theory.

Tsuna’s shoulders moved as if he went to shrug before he remembered the weight perched on one of them. “Bullying, mostly. And whatever the equivalent is in adults. People daring each other to do stupid things too.” Tsuna huffed. “People find the courage to do the weirdest things when they’re in a group.”

…

That definitely sounded like herd mentality. That was… an odd thing for a Cloud to focus on, but it also implied that Hibari understood human psychology better than Reborn would have guessed.

Digging further into that was a job for another day though. There was another thing in Tsuna’s explanation that Reborn really wanted to get to the bottom of. 

“What about Namimori itself? I heard he doesn’t like anyone damaging any of the buildings.”

That finally got a reaction. Not as strong as what Reborn had seen the night before when Tsuna had gotten territorial over his room, but his Flames definitely had more Cloud in them than at any other time so far.

“Hibari doesn’t care about the buildings,” Tsuna replied. His tone had gained an edge to it that piqued Reborn’s interest. “If he had his way, things would get damaged all the time because of his temper.”

Reborn let his expression become confused and questioning - wide eyes, lifted eyebrows. He may hate his toddler appearance, but sometimes it came in handy. “What holds him back then?”

“Me,” Tsuna growled as his Cloud Flames spiked, swirling angrily around them and almost overtaking the wisps of Sky. His eyes were hard, the usually warm brown darkening and becoming flecked with tiny shards of orange. “Hibari may care about the people _in_ Namimori, but Namimori itself is _mine_.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is 1am and I should really sleep but here, have this monstrosity. it ended up both far longer and far more emotional than I intended >_> I blame all of you for giving me so many ideas :P
> 
> also, tenses? what's that? can you eat it?

Reborn’s original next step was to invite Hayato Gokudera to Namimori and get him to stage a fight under the pretext of inheriting the Vongola if he won. Knowing now about Tsuna’s secondary Flames, Reborn had decided to change his plans a bit. Challenging a Cloud for a Territory they didn’t care about was pointless after all. Reborn had even considered scrapping his idea of inviting Smoking Bomb entirely, but the teenager had too much potential as a Guardian to pass up.

Of course, there was another way to incite Tsuna to fight Gokudera. One that should be rather easy to trigger considering Smoking Bomb’s temper and preferred weapons. It involved a much higher risk for Gokudera but, well. He was a Named hitman. If he couldn’t handle Tsuna Raging at him then he probably wouldn’t cut it as a Guardian.

* * *

“Who’s this?”

“Ciaossu, Smoking Bomb.”

A choking sound came from the other end of the phone call. “Reborn!? What-- How--”

“I have a job for you. I need someone to test my new student.”

A pause. “Who’s the student?”

“That’s confidential. Though I can say that if you happen to… impress them, there might be a... more permanent position available.”

Another pause, then a soft gasp. “You mean as a Guard--”

“Be careful what you say even on secured lines, Smoking Bomb,” came the admonishment. “I’ll send you the details.”

A click and the lime-green phone turned back into a chameleon and curled around its partner’s hand. 

* * *

Tsuna’s first impression of Hayato Gokudera was… not good.

The modifications to the school uniform he didn’t care about, though he was surprised that Gokudera hadn’t gotten past the Disciplinary Committee looking like that. His classmates’ reactions to the “bad boy transfer student” were predictable and boring. Gokudera scowling at him was surprising but familiar.

Kicking Tsuna’s desk like that though?

Bad idea.

That little spark of something at the back of Tsuna's brain - the something that gets all territorial over Namimori and that's been getting mad at Reborn a lot lately - flickers and focuses its attention on the new student.

* * *

Tsuna prefers not to eat in the classroom but he also doesn’t like to disturb Hibari multiple days in a row, so today he opts to head outside for lunch. There are plenty of shady trees in the schoolyard and the DC patrol often enough that bullies rarely find an opportunity to trouble other students. His favourite spot is also a bit out of the way, around the corner of the school building, and that means he rarely gets bothered there.

Unfortunately, today Tsuna’s instincts feel twitchy as he heads to his usual spot. He’s sure someone is watching him. He would have assumed it was Reborn, but he knows that Reborn has been watching him for at least a couple of days now and this feels… different. Obvious, in fact, compared to Reborn’s presence which Tsuna can only barely feel some of the time. Rougher too, and not as controlled.

He walks around the corner of the building, walks a couple more metres, then spins to face the corner and stops. He assumes it’s some of the idiots who still try to bully him occasionally, despite Hibari’s control over the school. It’s a nuisance but it’s also too much effort to run. He would rather just get the confrontation over with. 

Instead, he’s surprised to see the transfer student poke his head around the corner a few moments later. 

Gokudera seems startled that his attempt at stealth failed, but quickly rallies himself and stomps into clear view, just far enough forward to not be easily visible to others. There’s a scowl on his face that is probably menacing to anyone who isn’t used to Hibari Kyoya, and upon stopping he almost immediately pulls out a cigarette and a lighter.

“So you’re the brat they’ve named Vongola Decimo?” Gokudera spits.

Tsuna freezes. “Eh?” Of course, it makes sense that the half-Italian transfer student would be related to the chaos Reborn has brought upon Tsuna’s life. Tsuna just… hadn’t quite believed Reborn was telling the truth. Still doesn’t believe it to be honest, but here’s someone who is at least willing to play along for… what? What does Gokudera want with Tsuna?

“Tch. Can’t even put a sentence together, huh?” he mumbles around the now-lit cigarette in his mouth. Gokudera’s glare is deepening, and Tsuna just knows that Gokudera has heard some of the “Dame-Tsuna” rumours. “I can’t believe they’re letting an idiot like you inherit.” 

Tsuna would reply - wants to reply - but… what can he even say? That he doesn’t really believe the Mafia thing is real? That he doesn’t know what it would involve if it is real? That he doesn’t want to inherit anyway?

Thankfully he’s saved by Reborn.

“Ciaossu,” Reborn calls, drawing their attention to where he’s perched in a nearby tree. “You arrived earlier than I expected Gokudera Hayato.”

Gokudera’s eyes flicker in what looks to Tsuna like a hint of… Embarrassment? Nervousness? Fear?

“You offered an interesting deal, Reborn.”

Reborn smirked. “I thought you would be interested.” He turned to stare at Tsuna. “Gokudera Hayato is a Named hitman from Italy. He’s known as Smoking Bomb Hayato because his preferred weapon is dynamite and he’s known to carry large amounts of it on his person. He’s here to test you, to see if you’re worthy of being the Vongola Heir.”

“T-test me?” Tsuna manages to stutter out. That does not sound good. But there’s another part of Reborn’s introduction that Tsuna’s brain seems to be having even more trouble with:

Dynamite. 

As in, the super destructive explosive dynamite!?

The  _ something _ in the back of Tsuna’s brain that dislikes damage to Namimori stirs.

“Mmhmm,” Reborn hums, fedora tilting down to shadow his eyes. “Of course if you die, well. That would be unfortunate but accidents happen.”

“Wait. Wait--  _ Die??”  _ Tsuna squeals. “Reborn, what do you mean--  _ Hiieeeeee! _ ”

Tsuna’s question had been cut off by Gokudera producing several sticks of dynamite from who knows where, lighting them with the cigarette still in his mouth and throwing straight at Tsuna.

Somehow, miraculously, some kind of instinct kicked in and Tsuna managed to scramble backwards just in time. His arms raised to protect his face, just in time to take the brunt of the dust and debris kicked up by the explosions. The shockwave also knocked him back a couple of steps, and then his shoe caught on something and down Tsuna fell, landing harshly on his ass.

And yet… Tsuna’s injuries didn’t bother him. The stinging of his arms and the pain in his tailbone barely registered. Because there was something more, something bigger that his brain was too busy focusing on. 

Tsuna’s eyes cracked open and his arms dropped slightly and he stared out at--

Pitted earth, plants and flowers flung every which way. Scorch marks on the wall nearest the explosions, though thankfully no windows that could have broken. And the smell - nothing he had ever smelled before, not exactly, but enough  _ fire _ and  _ destruction _ that it set his blood rushing in his ears.

Gokudera was waving around another handful of dynamite and saying something, probably trying to taunt Tsuna but Tsuna didn’t care. Gokudera had already made a fatal mistake. 

“You damaged the school.”

Gokudera paused in whatever he had been saying. Tsuna’s tone was… different. As he stood and carefully brushed off his uniform, his stance was different too - stronger, taller. And then there was the feeling of the Flames in the air. Barely there, just the slightest hint, but they were…

Gokudera yelped and unconsciously stepped back a step. “You’re a  _ Cloud?”  _

“A Cloudy Sky, to be specific,” Reborn called from his vantage point. 

“Reborn!” Gokudera cried, now carefully watching as Tsuna slowly picked his way closer, carefully examining the damage. “That wasn’t in his profile!”

“Wasn’t it?” Reborn hummed. His hand now held a green pistol, two types of (probably nonlethal) bullets loaded, but it rested at his side, waiting. 

Tsuna was barely a metre from Gokudera now, and his Flames had grown with his anger as he examined the damage. Now his gaze focused on the bomber, and his eyes were hard as steel and alight with a primal rage that Gokudera had hoped to never see.

“You  _ damaged _ the  _ school, _ ” Tsuna hissed again, voice dripping with anger. 

“I-- I didn’t know not too!” Gokudera tried, backing up again. “If I’d known it was your territory I would have--”

“What?” Tsuna advanced a step, and Gokudera mirrored it with yet another step backwards. “You would have stopped? You would have gone elsewhere, damaged  _ more  _ of Namimori?”

“No!” Gokudera yelped. “I mean, I would have--”

Then, in an odd reflection of Tsuna’s earlier fall, Gokudera trips. And in his surprise, he dropped the dynamite in his hands and the still-lit cigarette fell from his mouth.

There was silence for a moment as Tsuna and Gokudera stared at the mess of dynamite and fire and both their expressions turned to horror and shock and then--

_ Bang! _

Tsuna jerked as he felt something hit his forehead. The force made him fall backwards, and as he fell he  _ regretted _ . He regretted letting Gokudera corner him. He regretted not taking the Mafia thing more seriously. He regretted letting Gokudera damage the school with his dynamite.

He regretted that it was about to be damaged even further.

“ _ REBORN! Stop the dynamite from damaging the school with my Dying Will!” _

* * *

After all the fuses were put out and whatever rush of energy Tsuna had experienced had gone and Reborn had appeared beside Tsuna with a spare uniform, both teens collapsed on the ground. It had been a rollercoaster for both of them, and the near-death experience had been too much on top of it all. The odd energy Tsuna could sometimes tap into seemed drained as well, the little bit he could usually access almost completely gone.

“Well done, Dame-Tsuna. It seems you might have what it takes to be a Boss after all.”

Tsuna squeaked and turned to stare wide-eyed at his home tutor. “Reborn! Why did we have to go through all this?”

“Because it’s good training,” Reborn replied, voice playful. “And you got to meet another member of the Mafia.”

Both turned to stare at Gokudera who jumped at the sudden attention. Then his focus slid to Tsuna and suddenly he was scrambling up into a seated bow, head ridiculously low. “I’m sorry for damaging your territory, Vongola Decimo! Reborn called me here to test you but he didn’t tell me you’re Cloudy and I didn’t know the school was your territory! I promise not to damage it again and thank you for saving me from the dynamite and--”

“Gokudera!” Tsuna interjected, concerned that the other teen hadn’t taken a breath during his whole rant. “You don’t need to bow! And, uh, it’s fine. I’m sorry I got so… weird about it?” Tsuna continued, hand coming up to rub at his neck in embarrassment.

Gokudera finally looked up and Tsuna could swear his eyes were sparkling. “You’re the best, Decimo! You don’t need to apologise for getting territorial! And I swear I’ll make it up to you for damaging your school. Whatever you want, I’ll do it! I’ll serve you for life to make up my debt to you! ”

Tsuna blinked, not quite able to understand Gokudera or what he was saying. He had… many questions. But the most important one was: 

“Does that mean you’re staying in Namimori?”

The bomber blinked at Tsuna for a few seconds, confused, then his face crumpled. “Do you… not want me to stay?” Then he pasted on a shaky and obviously fake smile. “I mean, of course you don’t want me to stay after what I did! That’s fine. If Decimo wants me to repay my debt by leaving then I’ll leave and never come back. In fact, you’ll never see me again. I’ll make sure to never--”

“Gokudera!” Tsuna shouted, interrupting Gokudera’s ranting again. “That’s not what I meant!” Tsuna sighed, and tried to smile at the other teen. “You can stay if you want.”

Gokudera froze. He looked stunned. “I… can stay?”

Tsuna’s smile grew a little bit more real and a little bit more kind. “Yeah, you can stay.” Then something in Tsuna’s brain  _ itched _ and prompted him to add, “But maybe you could… not use the dynamite? Or come up with something… less destructive?”

The bomber looked confused, then thoughtful. “Something less destructive?” Then a smile grew on his face - a real smile, one that shone from his eyes as well, and Tsuna felt… something, something warm and wild and brilliant, brush against his mind where that energy of his seemed to live. “I can do that, Decimo! I make my own dynamite, so it should be easy! Even just off the top of my head, I think if I make some changes to…”

As Gokudera continued to ramble, Reborn sidled up beside Tsuna again. “Well done Dame-Tsuna. You’ve gained your first underling.”

“Hiieee! Reborn, what do you mean ‘underling’!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to my headcanon of "if hayato is a genius then why the heck does he just throw sticks of dynamite at people for so long"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some time before work after reading all your comments, so have a short chapter XD I think I originally had another point I meant to make with this but remembering it would require planning and I'm too lazy for that so. might add more later? Idk. this "posting before I lose my nerve" thing seems to be working out pretty well so far. 
> 
> also, random questions from my notes: "tenth" vs "decimo"??? and deathperation bullet (or whatever we're calling it) + cloudy sky??? that seems to me like a recipe for chaos (yay!)

The morning after the showdown with Gokudera, said bomber is waiting at Tsuna’s gate when he and Reborn left for school. 

“Good morning Decimo!” he calls, bowing way too deep for Tsuna’s sanity.

Tsuna squeaks and waves his hands at Gokudera, trying to somehow stop this before his neighbours see. He doesn’t need  _ more _ rumours that he’s some kind of gangster like Hibari.

“Gokudera! You don’t need to bow!” Tsuna smiles as the other teen straightens up. “Good morning. How are you?” he asked as he slipped through the gate and started walking to school.

Gokudera grinned and fell into step just behind Tsuna. “I’m good, Decimo! I spent last night brainstorming other ways to use dynamite in my attacks and even what other explosives I could use! I’m making good progress on coming up with something less destructive but still effective in battle.”

Glancing back at Gokudera for a second, Tsuna frowned at the bags under his eyes and the red eyes. He had noticed them before but hadn’t wanted to be rude. But if Gokudera was tired because of what Tsuna said...

“Don’t lose sleep or stress yourself out over it too much. Your health is important,” Tsuna admonished, getting distracted halfway through by his phone beeping in his pocket. He frowned at the device in his hand then started tapping out a message.

Reborn, curious about what could have drawn Tsuna’s attention, jumped from the garden wall he had been walking on to Tsuna’s shoulder. It was a sign of how often Reborn did that - and how used to it Tsuna had gotten - that Tsuna barely flinched. 

“What’s that, Dame-Tsuna?” he asked.

Tsuna hummed, staring at the screen, apparently waiting for a reply. “Hibari. Apparently there was some trouble at the markets this morning. And he’s asking about Gokudera and the damage he did to the school.”

Gokudera twitched at the reminder of his (awful, stupid, unacceptable) mistake. Then the rest of Tsuna’s reply registered. “Hibari!?” he yelped. “The crazy Cloud who runs the school? You’re in contact with him?”

Tsuna stopped walking and turned to stare at Gokudera. “Yes?”

“What Gokudera means,” Reborn interjected, “is that we’re surprised that you have Hibari’s number and that you’re apparently chatting about Disciplinary Committee work.”

“Oh, that,” Tsuna muttered, glancing sideways at Reborn. “People tend to not notice me a lot of the time, so I see things that Hibari and his DC don’t. I report anything important to Hibari and he deals with it if he wants to. In return, he keeps me up to date on anything big that happens.”

“You… report things to the Cloud?” Gokudera asked. “Wait, no. You’re co-operating with another Cloud!?”

Tsuna blinked at Gokudera. “Why do you keep calling Hibari a ‘Cloud’?”

“Think of it as a personality type,” Reborn replied, lecturing tone in full force. “Generally Clouds are rather unsocial by normal standards, potentially quite angry and violent, and, most of all, territorial. A classic Cloud is usually territorial about a place or an area like you are. An inverted Cloud, like Hibari, is usually territorial about people.” Reborn watched Tsuna’s expression, trying to gauge how well he was understanding. Contrary to his classes at school, Tsuna seemed focused in a way that Reborn hadn’t seen before. “Clouds also don’t usually get along. Two Clouds coexisting in the same area is rare, but two Clouds coexisting  _ peacefully _ is almost unheard of. That’s why Gokudera is so surprised that you seem to get along fine with Hibari.”

“Hibari’s an inverted Cloud!?” Gokudera yelped, interrupting whatever Tsuna had been about to say. His eyes were round, and Reborn could almost see the rapid-fire thinking happening in his brain. “What!?”

Tsuna shrugged. “From what Reborn just said, yeah. Hibari mostly just cares about the people in Namimori. I’m the one who likes Namimori itself.” He glanced down at his phone when it chimed, reading the short message he had received and starting to type out a longer response.

“Why is that?” Reborn asked, jumping on a topic he had been wanting to ask about. “Why do you care so much about Namimori?”

“Most people are… fake,” Tsuna replied, distracted by typing on his phone. “They hide behind masks and lies and you never know when they’re going to turn on you. So I don’t like people. But I can’t just stay holed up in my house all the time, so I tend to wander Namimori a lot. There’s a lot of really nice places where you can escape from all the people and just… exist for a while.” Tsuna finally looked up from his phone, seemed to realise what he’d been saying, and blushed. “But that’s, y’know, just what I think. It’s not... Uh.” 

And while Gokudera jumped to assure Tsuna that his explanation made sense and he had a point and some people were two-faced bastards, Reborn just hummed and tugged on Tsuna’s hair to get him moving again. Learning how the mind of a baby Cloud worked was fascinating.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for suicide because this is yamamoto's introduction chapter and it's roughly the same plot as canon
> 
> this was hard to write >_< I don't know how many drafts of the roof scene I wrote and tbh this still doesn't feel quite right but whatever, it's 3am on the ~fourth day of attempting to write this chapter so we're going with it
> 
> next chapter should be fluffy Cloudy!Tsuna shenanigans. I need a lighter chapter after all this :<
> 
> also, reminder that the whole thing with Mochida and Kyoko didn't happen in this verse, which is kinda the basis of Yamamoto and Tsuna's conversations in canon. so, uh, we're just completely doing our own thing here ^-^;;

Tsuna hates physical education class.

It’s not that he hates sports or exercise really, though he doubts either will even list among his favourite things. It’s just the  _ people _ . People being noisy and sweaty and even more stupid than usual. Between his clumsiness and the way playing sports make his hackles rise and his instincts screech, he can rarely concentrate on what he’s meant to be doing and tends to trip or miss the few times he can concentrate.

So, that afternoon’s volleyball game goes about as expected. Tsuna is put on a team last (after Yamamoto steps in to stop the “we don’t want Sawada” argument), he takes a ball to the face, his team loses. He is “convinced” to stay behind and clean up the gym by himself (Gokudera had disappeared earlier in the day to get more “supplies” for his experiments, whatever that meant).

Of course, this being a regular occurrence, two members of the Disciplinary Committee appear as soon as all the other students have left and silently start helping clean up. Tsuna sighs but doesn’t say anything. Kyoya had started this almost a year ago when he realised how often Tsuna was being left to clean up by himself, and Tsuna was yet to convince him it was unnecessary.

The surprise came when another person slipped into the gym.

“Yo, Sawada!” Yamamoto called from the door, a smile on his face and a broom over his shoulders. “Help has arrived!”

Tsuna stared at the school idol - because really, that’s what Yamamoto was - in confusion. “Y-Yamamoto?” Curse his stutter. “You don’t need to help! I lost us the game after all.”

The athlete just grinned even wider and moved to start sweeping. “Nah, it’s fine. I see you have some helpers already,” he said, nodding at the DC members.

Tsuna couldn’t help the trace of irritation that appeared on his face and in his voice. “Hibari found out that I do the cleaning alone a lot, and now he insists that the junior DC members help me.”

Yamamoto laughed, too bright and too perfect, and suddenly Tsuna remembered why he didn’t like this particular classmate. Apart from how often he damaged the school with baseball pitches that went too far or too fast or were just thrown from somewhere that wasn’t the baseball field.

Tsuna’s scowl deepened a bit. 

“Hibari really likes you, huh,” Yamamoto mused.

“E-eh?” Tsuna stuttered, caught off guard. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Yamamoto drawled, drawing the word out. “You never get in trouble with the DC if your uniform isn’t perfect, they don’t seem to care if you skip school, you sometimes eat on the roof without getting bitten by Hibari and now this.” He looked up from sweeping to smile that blinding smile at Tsuna, who resisted the urge to cringe away from it. “It’s impressive, y’know? I didn’t think anyone could get near Hibari and yet here you are!”

Tsuna blushed and studiously went back to cleaning. “It’s not that impressive. We’ve just... known each other for a long time.”

“Still!” Yamamoto exclaimed. “And then, with the transfer student! He was so mad at you when he first arrived and now, suddenly, you’re friends, right?”

A small, shaky laugh burbled out of Tsuna. “Gokudera? That was… a misunderstanding. We… talked about it, and now we’re good.”

Yamamoto was still grinning that stupid, fake grin. “Still, it’s very impressive.” 

There was silence for a while, both of the students concentrating on their work. And then, as if there hadn’t been a break in the conversation and with - for once - no smile or laugh in his voice Yamamoto continued: “I wish I could be that impressive.”

Tsuna froze, then slowly turned to stare at the other teen. A teen who was a school idol, one of the best athletes on any of Namimori Middle’s sports teams, and easily the best player on the baseball team. A teen who was already impressive by most standards that teens usually cared about. 

“Eh?”

Yamamoto laughed again, but a nervous, shaky laugh, as one hand came up to rub at the back of his head. “It’s just… Baseball is my thing, right? But lately, no matter how much I practice, my average is dropping and I keep screwing up my fielding.” Yamamoto’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “The team have noticed and a few of them have been… asking me why I’m not as focused on baseball anymore.” A spark of fire and determination lit Yamamotos’ eyes again. “But I am! I am focused! More than I’ve ever been. But…” Yamamoto sighed, and his whole body seemed to slump. “I just can’t seem to make any progress lately.”

Tsuna stared at Yamamoto in disbelief. Why was he being told this? Why had Yamamoto decided that here and now was the best time to unload… whatever this was!?

And to make things even worse, Yamamoto turned to Tsuna and asked: “Tsuna, what should I do?”

Tsuna blinked, and blinked again, and then fell back into one of his oldest habits and flailed and shrieked. “Hiiie, you’re asking me!?”

Tsuna regretted his response a moment later when Yamamoto shut down, his eyes blanking and his smile fixing into something fake. When he laughed Tsuna knew it was the practised laugh he often gave their other classmates.

Tsuna hated it.

“Haha, don’t worry about it Sawada!” Yamamoto grinned, trying to laugh it off. “I guess I was just thinking aloud.”

And Tsuna felt… something. Something about this moment felt important but… that was it. No hint about why or what he should do. Nothing. So Tsuna thought about the people he found impressive - Hibari, Reborn, his mum, even Kusakabe - and what they might have said or done. 

“Well,” Tsuna reluctantly started, unsure about giving advice but needing to do  _ something _ . “I think… as long as you don’t give up, you’ll get there eventually, right?”

There was silence for a moment, then suddenly Yamamoto was right there and swinging an arm around Tsuna’s shoulders, pulling him in for an impromptu sideways hug that made Tsuna freeze up.

“Yeah!” Yamamoto shouts, and right next to Tsuna’s ear it’s  _ loud _ . But at least the joy and excitement sounded genuine now, rather than that fake tone that always put Tsuna’s hackles up. “Y’know, I was thinking that too! Alright,” he pumps his other fist into the air, “I’m going to stay late tonight and practice for  _ hours!” _

* * *

When another student barges into their classroom the following day, Tsuna initially doesn’t think anything of it. Just another teenager over-excited about something inane. But then--

“Everyone, come quickly! Yamamoto’s going to jump off the roof!”

And suddenly Tsuna’s instincts are  _ roaring.  _

Amid the exclamations of shock and disbelief from his classmates, Tsuna feels two sets of instincts rise up from that warm place in the back of his mind. One set is familiar  _ (protect, defend, mine, mine,  _ **_mine_ ** _ ) _ but the other  _ (connection, could have been, might still be)  _ is so rare its appearance takes Tsuna by surprise. It is similar to the bond he felt to Gokudera the other day but less substantial and more… hopeful. Like there was almost a connection between them but something blocked it. And now that link was being threatened and… what? Tsuna didn’t have enough experience with this part of his instincts to understand what it wanted. 

The student’s voice breaks through Tsuna’s thoughts again. “Apparently Yamamoto stayed late to practice baseball last night and he broke his arm!”

_...It’s my fault. _

Tsuna shudders, hands clenching as his emotions spiked. His instincts were one thing - vague, indistinct feelings - but that thought was crystal clear. Yamamoto had broken his arm because of  _ Tsuna _ . Because he had given bad advice and convinced Yamamoto to go too far. Yamamoto was going to  _ jump _ because of  _ him. _

For a second - just a split second - Tsuna considered running. The DC members who had been at the field would know Yamamoto had talked to Tsuna, but no one else did. He could run and hide and no one would be any the wiser, right? 

He didn’t have to watch the consequences of his actions, right?

But then Tsuna remembered the conversation from the day before. He remembered thinking about what advice to give and thinking about what his important people would do and say. What Hibari or Reborn or his mum or Kusakabe would do. 

And he decided to take his own advice.

It was only fair after getting Yamamoto into this situation after all. 

Tsuna had to fix this.

* * *

Getting to the roof took both millennia and no time at all. Tsuna barely remembered shouldering his way past the mass of students rushing to watch the “spectacle”, that inner fire helping him in little ways. And for once both his instincts seemed to be cooperating, telling him to protect his territory and help Hibari protect his “herd” and that he had to save Yamamoto  _ no matter what _ .

The roof was insanely crowded near the door, especially considering it was usually one of the most deserted spots in the school. There was a big clearing on the other side of the roof though - the side where Yamamoto stood on the wrong side of the fence. 

A fence that Tsuna had asked Hibari about fixing just the week before. A fence that was probably seconds from falling to pieces after Yamamoto climbed over it.

_ Damn it. _

On the other side of the fence, Yamamoto stood side on, one arm tucked against his body in a sling and the other resting lightly on top of the fence. Yamamoto was looking down at the drop, but it seemed that part of his attention was on the crowd. He wasn’t reacting to anyone’s calls or crying though. Just… watching, as if they were complete strangers doing something odd.

His expression made it even more eery. Yamamoto’s face was blank. No smile, no grin, not even a hint of laughter. His eyes looked serious and dull, dark circles underneath. 

He looked grim and for the first time in a long time… Tsuna thought he looked  _ real _ . 

Not the school idol Yamamoto or the baseball star Yamamoto. Not even the happy-go-lucky Yamamoto who was always goofing off in class and befriending everyone. 

Yamamoto’s expression was harsher and darker than any of his usual masks. His posture wasn’t slumped but strong, conviction in every line of his body. And the small glint in his eyes wasn’t a sign of happiness, but rather one of that evoked a feeling of danger. 

Like this, Yamamoto had an aura that reminded Tsuna of Hibari Kyoya, and that made Tsuna  _ curious _ . 

Of course, that was when Yamamoto noticed him. 

“Sawada,” he called, his lips quirking in a bad copy of his usual grin. “If you’ve come to stop me - to give me more advice \- don’t bother. I know what I’m doing now.”

Tsuna frowned as he stepped forward, the crowd parting around him like the Red Sea. He could hear the whispers - “Since when does Dame-Tsuna know Yamamoto?” and the like - but he couldn’t afford to think about that at that moment. It was taking everything he had to not run after all. Trying to also think of what to say in this situation was turning out to be quite hard. 

Thankfully, Yamamoto continued for him. 

“You of all people should get it, right? My baseball was getting worse and no matter what I did, it just never got better. And now I’ve broken my arm and probably won’t ever be able to play professionally!” Yamamoto muttered glumly, lifting the arm in the sling to show it off. “The baseball gods have forsaken me, and I’m sure the team and everyone else will soon too so what’s the point? What’s the point if I can’t do anything right? What’s the point if I can’t do the thing I love? What’s the point if no one cares about me outside of some stupid sport?” 

Then, all at once, Yamamoto seemed to deflate. His shoulders slumped and his voice dropped to barely above a whisper, his tone rough. “I am nothing without baseball. Nothing. If I can’t play then I might as well disappear, right?”

Tsuna stared. He stared and tried to think of something to say - something profound, something poetic - but he couldn’t think of anything so instead he said:

“You’re an idiot.”

Then he stopped and took a second to let his brain catch up with his mouth.

Yamamoto also froze up, staring right back at Tsuna with the barest hint of disbelief in his eyes. Then it started to turn to anger and indignation and scorn and even if they were negative emotions Tsuna was glad to just see  _ something  _ in those bottomless eyes. 

“You’re an idiot to think you only matter because you’re good at baseball,” he interjected before Yamamoto could start ranting at him again. “You’re an idiot to think no one cares about you. And you’re an idiot to care about anyone who only likes you because of baseball _." _

Tsuna took a step forward, closing the distance between him and Yamamoto just that little bit more.

“You have a dad. I really doubt he only loves you because you’re good at baseball. Do you really think he wouldn’t care if you died? If you went to school one day and just never came home? If he had to hear about your death second hand from some police officer or news reporter?” Tsuna saw Yamamoto flinch, one of his hands tightening its grip on the fence, and Tsuna felt his own confidence grow.

“As for everyone else… I doubt every single one of them only likes you because you’re good at baseball. But even if they did, so what? If they don’t care about you just because of who you are, then they aren’t real friends.” Tsuna took another step, itching to reach out and brace the fence that he knew was probably one good shake away from breaking. “And if they’re not real friends, then it’s not worth worrying too much about what they think of you. People not liking you isn’t the end of the world.”

Yamamoto was frowning, his body angled more towards Tsuna which he considered a small win. His expression had settled back into the disturbing blankness though. “Isn’t that the game though?” he asked. 

Tsuna just stared for a moment. “What game?”

“Life,” Yamamoto replied. “The great big game where the goals are to get a job, get a house, to be well-liked, etcetera. I always thought I would make a career out of playing baseball and, y’know, if you become an athlete it’s important to have a good image and be well-liked. And being popular is similar and it’s kind of... the ‘thing’ in school, isn’t it? Be athletic or smart or pretty and become popular - that’s how you ‘win’ in school, right?

“But then, you don’t care about that, do you Sawada?” Yamamoto chucked, tone dry and not at all amused. “You don’t smile, you don’t laugh; you barely even talk to anyone. You don’t try in sports or academics either, and you’re not in any clubs. You don’t care about being popular at all, do you?” Then Yamamoto’s expression twisted again into something wistful, and Tsuna had a brief thought about how odd it was to see such an expression on someone who, until recently, seemed to have everything. “I’m kind of jealous, to be honest. Not caring about achieving anything or about what other people think… That sounds kind of nice.”

“Why don’t you try it then?” Tsuna asked, his mouth again running ahead of his brain. Oh well, he might as well stick with it now. Without taking his gaze from Yamamoto he gestured at the other students crowded on the roof, all of them watching curiously but none really trying to help. “You’ve seen the truth now. Most people only care about you as long as they can gain something from you, but as soon as you lose value to them they will turn on you. If you pretend to be someone you’re not then you’re just selling them a lie that will one day crumble, and setting yourself up to be burned. Why not stop pretending and see what happens?” Tsuna took another step forward, almost within reaching distance of the fence - and of Yamamoto. “Why not try just being yourself and see who sticks around?”

Yamamoto was almost fully facing Tsuna now, his back mostly to the drop he had previously been contemplating. There was something about his expression that gave Tsuna hope too. It was nothing close to the happiness he usually tried to project, but his eyes weren’t quite as dead and his brow wasn’t quite as furrowed. There was also a hint of vulnerability and hope in his expression that told Tsuna that he was getting through to Yamamoto. 

But then, a second later Yamamoto’s gaze flickered from Tsuna to the people behind him and whatever he saw caused his expression to pull into that awful, sarcastic, self-deprecating smile again. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I could have tried that. But do you really think it will work now?” He gestured around at the crowd watching them with his good arm. “You really think anyone will even want to be associated with me after this? I’ll just be that crazy guy who almost jumped from the school roof. No one will want to be my friend if I have that kind of reputation.”

And suddenly the fire in the back of Tsuna’s mind, which had laid mostly dormant through the whole conversation was  _ roaring _ again.  It wasn’t the protective instinct Tsuna was used to feeling, but the other one. The one that looked at Hibari and said  _ here is someone who needs somewhere to come home to _ . The same one that looked at Gokudera and said  _ here is someone who needs something to focus on _ . But most of all it was the same instinct that looked at them both and shouted about  _ freedom _ and  _ purpose _ and  _ being yourself no matter what _ . It was weaker with Yamamoto - far, far weaker - but it saw someone who was driven and didn’t quite fit society’s mould and it  _ wanted _ and Tsuna was far too used to giving in to his instincts to resist.

Tsuna took that final step and instead of bracing the fence as he had meant to, he followed his instincts and held out a hand in offering. 

“I’ll be your friend,” he said. 

Yamamoto froze, his eyes widening in surprise. “What?”

Tsuna blushed slightly, some of his usual nervousness breaking through his weird, determined state. He pushed through it though.

“I don’t think you’re just a crazy guy who almost jumped from the school roof. I don’t think you matter just because you’re good at baseball either. I think you’re a very talented and very driven person who got a bit lost. And I think that if you let you be yourself, we might get along pretty well.” Tsuna let a small, slightly shy and slightly nervous smile appear on his face. “So, will you be my friend?”

A few seconds ticked by while Yamamoto stared and Tsuna slowly felt more and more silly. But then, like the sun breaking from behind rain clouds, a smile spread across Yamamoto’s face. And it might have been small, but it was soft and hopeful and  _ real _ . 

“I think I’d like that,” Yamamoto said, reaching forward to grasp Tsuna’s hand.

Except--

Yamamoto’s sense of his body was slightly off due to the cast on his arm and the way it was bound in a sling. And the painkillers he was on. So when he leaned forward to shake Tsuna’s hand he misjudged, and he knocked into the fence. Just the slightest, tiniest nudge but it was enough for the rusty old fence that had been hanging on by a thread. 

The fence creaked then groaned as the metal broke, and Yamamoto’s grip tightened on Tsuna’s hand as he jerked back in surprise. But of course, his back was to the edge of the building, so as he stepped back his foot met nothing and suddenly he was tilting backwards, eyes wide and surprised, and pulling Tsuna with him.

And they were falling…

And falling...

And--

_ Whump! _

Tsuna groaned at the impact, lying very still as he tried to get air back into his lungs. He glanced around at the surrounding Disciplinary Committee members and flapped a hand at Hibari, standing just off to the side, in some combination of thanks and well done and  _ I’m really glad you got my message _ . 

Hibari gave a tiny nod in response, then turned to leave as the DC members started to help Tsuna and Yamamoto up from the gym mats and other things they had stacked up on the ground. Tsuna still hurt, but he didn’t think anything was broken, which was a much better outcome than what might have happened. Yamamoto didn’t seem to have injured himself any further either, though he looked pretty stunned. Which was fair, considering they had just fallen several floors and he hadn’t known that Tsuna had contacted Hibari beforehand to organise something soft to land on (though it had only been intended for Yamamoto). 

“How’s your arm?” Tsuna asked, Yamamoto jumping at his voice. “You didn’t land on it I hope?”

Yamamoto gave a weak smile, his good hand raising to run over his cast in what seemed like an unconscious gesture. “I don’t think so. Falling backwards like that was pretty lucky, I guess.”

Tsuna chuckled softly, his usual reticence coming back as his instincts settled down again now that Yamamoto was safe. Part of his brain was still thinking about the fence, angry about it being broken and about how things might have gone if it had been fixed earlier, but for once that territorial part of his brain was being drowned out by the other part which seemed almost childishly happy about his new friend.

Which. Tsuna had a new friend?

He really hadn’t thought that one through.

Tsuna’s thoughts were interrupted by one of the DC members. “The Chairman insists you both get checked out at the infirmary before you go back to class. If you want to take the rest of the day off, he’ll organise it.” 

Hibari’s mother-henning was familiar and Tsuna didn’t even bother to argue “He worries too much,” Tsuna groused even as he started moving towards the school building and the infirmary. 

Yamamoto slipped into step with him a second later, free hand in a pocket and his posture deceptively relaxed for how tight his eyes were. “You really are friends with Hibari, aren’t you?”

Tsuna glanced at Yamamoto sideways, trying to figure out why he looked so worried. It could just be because of everything he was going to have to deal with now but… That didn’t seem quite right.

“Why do you say that?”

Yamamoto grinned, though it was mostly that fake grin Tsuna hated. “I’ve never heard of Hibari giving anyone permission to take the day off school before.”

Tsuna shrugged, pushing through the front door of the school and holding it open for Yamamoto. “He might be scary and violent and crazy, but he’s a mother hen at heart.”

That got a laugh from Yamamoto - a real laugh, though it was a little shaky around the edges. “Kyoya Hibari, a mother hen. That sounds so weird.”

“It’s true!” Tsuna exclaimed. Then his phone pinged and he checked it, only to smile and show it to Yamamoto. He had a notification of a new message from Hibari, which only said, “Hurry up.” “See? Complete mother hen.” He focused on his phone to type out a response, and distractedly added, “We should exchange contact info too so we can chat or whatever.” 

A second then...

Yamamoto’s good arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulders and Tsuna stumbled as he was pulled into a side hug. He looked up at his new friend (friend!) in surprise, a bit annoyed at the sudden contact, but the annoyance evaporated when he saw the brilliant smile on Yamamoto’s face, more real and more bright than he had seen in… years, now that he thought about it. 

“Okay!” Yamamoto chirped, his voice suddenly extremely happy. 

Tsuna’s eyes narrowed, suspicious of how quickly Yamamoto’s mood had changed. “Why are you suddenly so happy?” he asked. Then he realised how that could sound and panicked, starting to flail and his mouth opening to stutter out an explanation.

But Yamamoto just laughed again, his arm briefly tightening around Tsuna’s shoulders. “Nothing, nothing! I’m just excited.” He glanced down at Tsuna, and when their gazes met Tsuna felt something, similar to what he had felt with Gokudera, like the brush of a tiny candle flame against his soul. Except where Gokudera had been energy and chaos and curiosity, this felt like a rainy summer’s day, all calm and peace and steadiness. 

Tsuna made a note to ask Reborn about these weird feelings soon. Surely his strange mafia hitman with the magic bullets would know, right?

Apparently oblivious to Tsuna’s internal confusion, Yamamoto continued with, “I get the feeling we’re going to be great friends.”

And Tsuna smiled because deep down in his soul, where he could feel possessiveness and a need for connections with people and a hint of several somethings that reminded him of Hibari and Gokudera and now Yamamoto, he knew Yamamoto was right. 

“Yeah, so do I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also! if you haven't noticed, Overcast is now a series! Overcast Dawn is about Hibari and Tsuna as kids and should get another couple chapters yet. there's also a chat fic since I got bored and felt like experimenting. I blame everyone who's been commenting for the addition of those two stories. I get far too excited when I get email notifications about comments and get very distracted by the need to write :P


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was meant to contain fluff but it became an exposition chapter because reborn >< oh well, means the next chapter will be fluff and chaos at least!
> 
> have reviewed the chapter but most of it was written in a post-migraine haze so uhh

The day after the incident with Yamamoto, Tsuna slept through his alarm.

Reborn wasn’t entirely surprised by this, considering how eventful the last few days had been for Tsuna. What he was surprised by, as he waited outside Tsuna’s room until the clock ticked over to 5:01 AM, was the amount of Cloud Flames he could feel radiating from the Sky.

In the last few days, particularly after Reborn shot Tsuna with a Dying Will bullet during his ‘fight’ with Gokudera, Tsuna’s Sky Flames had been slowly becoming more and more obvious. They were still barely a flicker compared to the roaring bonfire they should have been, but at least his Cloud Flames - what little could escape through the Seal - had no longer completely overshadowed his Sky Flames.

Today though, Tsuna’s Sky Flames were almost nonexistent. There was only the tiniest little spark of Sky peaking through the Seal, even less than when Reborn had first arrived. Tsuna’s Cloud Flames were also slightly diminished, but barely. In fact the imbalance meant that Tsuna’s Cloud Flames were more prominent than on any other day since Reborn arrived.

Reborn would have been worried, but he had a theory. Tsuna had been forced to use his Sky Flames when he had been shot with the Dying Will bullet and he seemed to have formed two preliminary bonds with Gokudera and Yamamoto. For someone who had been Sealed for years, that had probably taken more Sky Flames than Tsuna usually used in a year, and it had all happened within a week. That meant Tsuna was probably suffering Flame exhaustion from using his Flames too much too quickly, which would explain why Reborn could barely feel his Sky Flames.

The fact that Tsuna’s Cloud Flames seemed to be trying to make up for it  _ was _ worrying though. And highly interesting. Considering how prickly Tsuna’s Cloud Flames felt, Reborn figured they had become extra defensive to counter the weakness caused by Tsuna’s lack of accessible Sky Flames.

Of course, the easiest way to test his theory was to provoke the Cloud. So, without knocking or announcing his presence in any way, at exactly 5:01 AM Reborn threw open the door to Tsuna’s room and took a single step inside.

The reaction was instant. Tsuna went from asleep to awake in all of a second, his Cloud Flames flaring as much as they could as he jolted up into a sitting position, his eyes narrowing almost immediately on Reborn. As expected, a pillow came sailing towards the Arcobaleno, Tsuna’s aim surprisingly good for his lack of athleticism but probably temporarily aided by Cloud-enhanced strength. What wasn’t expected was the deep, almost inhuman growl that rumbled from Tsuna’s throat, the sound carried and amplified by Tsuna’s Flames.

Then, another couple of seconds later, Tsuna’s brain seemed to actually wake up and register just who was in his doorway. His Cloud Flames still raged against the intrusion and his body was still tense, but some of the anger and fear bled out of Tsuna’s expression as he recognised Reborn. 

“Wha’ time issit?” he asked, rubbing at one eye. 

Reborn hid his face in the shadows of his fedora as he picked up the pillow that had landed near him and pegged it back at Tsuna. The grunt the Sky made as it hit him in the face then fell to land in his lap was satisfying. It wouldn’t do for Tsuna to think he could throw things at Reborn without repercussions after all, Cloudy tendencies or not.

“5:01 AM,” Reborn said, knowing Tsuna would get the implication.

But instead of moving to stand up as Tsuna had done in previous days when confronted with similar situations, today he just flopped back onto his bed and groaned. Interestingly, his gaze didn’t move too far from Reborn though, curling onto his side so he could keep track of Reborn more easily. 

“Not today,” Tsuna grumbled. “‘s a bad day for me to go out.”

Reborn’s eyebrows would have raised if he didn’t have such perfect control of his expression. That sentence implied all kinds of interesting things. The first of which was: 

“Do you have bad days often?”

“Mm, not really,” Tsuna mumbled, face half-hidden in his pillow. “Just sometimes, when things get too much.”

“What about school?” Reborn asked, already planning how to question Nana about Tsuna’s ‘bad days’ later. 

Tsuna groaned again, then started fumbling for his phone on his nightstand. “I’ll tell Hibari and he’ll cover for me. Too likely to snap at people today to go somewhere so crowded. He gets annoyed when I disrupt his herd.”

This time Reborn’s eyebrows actually did rise. He had heard the terms Kyoya Hibari used to refer to other people, but this was the first time Tsuna had used them. That implied perhaps an even stronger bond than Reborn had suspected. Tsuna was still half asleep after all, and of all the Flame types, Clouds tended to run on instincts more than anyone else. This was probably as close to Tsuna being without a filter as he would ever get.

“You should let Gokudera and Yamamoto know too,” Reborn prodded, wondering how Tsuna would react to mentions of those two while in such a territorial state. “They will worry if you just don’t turn up to school.”

Tsuna paused in his typing for a moment, eyes going distant in a way Reborn was starting to recognise. “I guess I should,” Tsuna replied, followed, sure enough, by: “Hey, Reborn?”

Reborn hid his smirk, sure he already knew where this would go and glad for the chance to impart a lesson. Of course, he couldn’t resist adding a little bit of chaos too. “Yes, Dame-Tsuna?”

Tsuna frowned at him at the name, then visibly refocused himself. “You shot me with something the other day.”

...Not quite the question Reborn had expected - or a question at all really - but he could work with this. 

“That was the Dying Will bullet. When you’re shot with it you die, but if you regret something strongly enough you’ll be reborn so you can try to fix your regret with you Dying Will.”

A second, then: “Hiiiiiieeeeee, I  _ died _ !?”

Reborn let his hat tip back, finally showing Tsuna the smirk he had been hiding. “You came back so it’s fine.”

Tsuna stared at Reborn, horror and disbelief warring in his eyes for a while. Reborn could almost see the moment where Tsuna decided to put aside his questions about that statement and continue with his original line of thought. 

“When I was… hit, I felt this… surge of energy,” Tsuna said haltingly. “I don’t really remember what happened, but I do remember feeling very… warm. Like there was a fire inside of me that was giving me the energy to do… anything I wanted.” Tsuna paused again, then gave a short nervous laugh. “It sounds crazy but… I’m pretty sure that’s what happened. And ever since, I’ve been able to…  _ feel _ that fire, deep in my brain somewhere. And it doesn’t feel weird or unfamiliar? It kind of feels like it was always there but I just didn’t  _ know _ it was there until now, so I didn’t notice it. Kind of like… Like not noticing a bruise until you see it, and then not being able to forget about it, even if it barely hurts?”

Tsuna’s gaze had gone far away again during his explanation but when he focused back on Reborn there was something sharper, something more determined in his eyes. 

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? You used that b-bullet that made the fire grow, so you must know what it is and how to use it, right?”

For a second, Reborn considered giving a flippant answer. He hadn’t planned to explain too much about Flames to Tsuna for a while yet. But… this Tsuna was very different to the Tsuna he had thought he would be tutoring. This Tsuna was more in tune with his Flames than he had expected, even if it was mostly the Cloud secondary which seemed to be able to slip through the Seal more easily than his Sky Flames. This Tsuna also already had a Guardian - or as close as he could get with the Seal still in place - and was well on the way to adding more, so he should probably be told about Flames sooner rather than later.

Reborn let himself sigh audibly, and gestured at the end of Tsuna’s bed. “May I come in? This might be a long conversation.”

Tsuna’s eyes narrowed as he finally sat up properly, leaning back across the headboard of his bed and tucking his feet under him. His Flames curled around Reborn slightly in… Confusion? Interest? Something that, coming from a distinctly Cloudy person, had Reborn’s own Sun Flames instinctively wrapping around his body just a little bit tighter. Which was an interesting reaction all of its own. 

“Why are you being so polite?” Tsuna asked, suspicion in his voice and face. 

“Because you’re being extremely Cloudy today, and no sane Flame Active would enter the core of a Cloud’s territory without invitation when they feel like you do,” Reborn replied bluntly. Clouds generally preferred that, and Reborn got the feeling that it would be much better to just treat Tsuna as a Cloud today, instead of a Sky or even a Cloudy Sky. 

Tsuna stared at Reborn for a moment, obviously trying and failing to parse the explanation he had given. Then Tsuna sighed and his Flames lost some of their territorial edge as he nodded and vaguely gestured at his room in invitation. 

Reborn used his unnatural strength to jump up onto the bed in one bound, sitting down at the far end of the bed. It gave some semblance of being equals, despite Reborn’s stature, without crowding Tsuna too closely that it was likely to raise his hackles. 

“Explain,” Tsuna said once Reborn was settled and Reborn almost chuckled at the one-word response so typical of a classic Cloud. 

Raising one hand in front of himself, Reborn concentrated on his Will until yellow Flames sparked to life in the palm of his hand. He held them there for a few seconds before breaking his concentration to snuff them out, but it was enough for Tsuna to lean forward, wide-eyed in astonishment and interest. 

“ _ That _ was Dying Will Flames,” Reborn explained, lecturing tone once again present. “Sun Flames specifically, one of the seven types of Dying Will Flames. The others are Sky, Cloud, Rain, Storm, Mist and Lightning. Each has its own properties, but there is one thing that all Flames have in common - determination. Dying Will Flames are the manifestation of a strong will, and they are named as such because usually humans only access them in near-death situations. Flames are how people can suddenly find the strength to lift a car to save someone who is trapped, or find the speed to save someone from oncoming danger. They augment the body to allow humans to do things usually beyond their physical capability.

“However,” Reborn continued, “that isn’t all they can do. A very small percent of the population can access their Flames even outside of near-death situations. These people have such strong will and determination that they can force themselves into that state whenever they like, and some are even strong enough to manifest their Flames as a kind of energy that allows them to also influence the world around them.

“That’s what you just saw. The yellow fire was my Sun Flames, given power by my will and drawn out by sheer determination.”

Reborn paused there, giving Tsuna a chance to ask any questions. The teenager’s expression had shifted towards concentration, though there was definitely a hint of confusion in his eyes. 

“When you… shot me the other day, I was on fire, wasn’t I? I can sort of remember something…”

Reborn nodded. “The bullet I shot you with - the Dying Will Bullet - is a shortcut of sorts. It allows anyone to go into ‘Dying Will Mode’ for a short time. In that state, they can access their Flames completely as long as they have a regret strong enough. Their Flames will latch onto it and use it to create the determination needed to manifest the person’s Flames.”

Tsuna’s frown deepened. “If it’s that easy, why don’t more people use these bullets to do crazy things?”

“Because,” Reborn drawled with a smirk, one hand reaching up to stroke the chameleon sitting on the brim of his fedora, “the bullets can only be made by Leon.” Then his tone and expression turned serious as he added, “And because there are downsides to Dying Will Mode. It allows you to do those ‘crazy things’ by removing the mental limiters your body usually relies on to ensure you don’t push yourself too far. That means you can do things you usually couldn’t without pain, but you still take damage for it. You just don’t feel the damage until you come out of Dying Will Mode, and then all the stress you put your body under kicks in all at once.”

Reborn could see that Tsuna didn’t quite understand, but he figured that Tsuna would probably learn about it first-hand soon enough, so he decided to move onto the more interesting topic. For him, anyway. 

“Besides, there are extenuating circumstances in your case that make Dying Will Mode even more dangerous,” he teased.

Tsuna fell for it hook, line and sinker. “Ehh? What do you mean?”

“Remember the types of Flames?” Reborn asked. “You are a Sky, first and foremost. Sky Flames have the property ‘harmony’, and they tend to act as a connection between the other elements. Skies are also usually leaders since their Flames tend to draw in other people. In fact, Skies usually ‘collect’ a set of ‘Guardians’ - six people, one with each Flame type, who work closely with the Sky and are essentially their ‘inner circle’.”

Tsuna’s eyes widened again, his body shrinking back slightly. “Wait, leaders? I don’t want to be a leader!” he exclaimed.

Reborn chuckled and decided to take another risk. He let his Flames rise slightly, curling invisibly in the air around him. Almost immediately he saw Tsuna stiffen, his Cloud Flames becoming heavier and more agitated. “Feel that?” Reborn asked, prodding Tsuna’s Cloud Flames with his own Sun. “That’s your secondary Flame - Cloud, like Hibari. Normally your secondary Flames shouldn’t be so strong compared to your primary, but it seems you rely on your Cloud Flames a lot and that has made them a lot stronger than they would otherwise be.”

Reborn chose not to mention the Seal, not wanting to confuse the subject too much right now. That would be enough for Tsuna to start to understand his abilities and his connections to Hibari, Gokudera and Yamamoto. 

“Now, what type of Flames you have isn’t random,” Reborn continued to lecture. “It’s considered to be partly something you’re born with and something that develops with your personality. That goes both ways though since your Flames will affect your thoughts and personality.”

That sparked a flicker of realisation in Tsuna’s eyes. 

“Is that why I have two sets of... instincts?” Tsuna asked.

Reborn hid his smirk again. “Yes, probably. What are they like?”

Tsuna paused, thinking for a moment. He seemed to unconsciously prod at his Flames in the process because Reborn felt both his Sky and Cloud Flames flicker and twitch. 

“One set,” he began slowly, drawing out each word carefully, “is… territorial? That’s the part of me that gets angry when someone enters my room or when someone damages Namimori, especially the parts I like.”

“That would be your Cloud Flames,” Reborn replied. “As I said the other day, one of the main personality traits of Clouds is being possessive or defensive of people or places or things.”

“Right.” Tsuna nodded, and Reborn felt his Sky Flames flare just the tiniest bit as Tsuna obviously turned his attention to them into. “The other set… I don’t really know,” Tsuna admitted, frowning again. “I guess they’re kind of possessive too, but I’m not sure what they’re possessive  _ of.  _ They’ve never really… flared up until this week.”

“What about if you think about Hibari?” Reborn asked.

Tsuna startled, staring at Reborn in confusion. “What?”

If Reborn was a lesser man he would have huffed in annoyance. “Think about Hibari and try to poke those instincts and tell me what you feel.”

Tsuna stared for another second then nodded again. His face scrunched up a little bit in concentration and this time when Reborn felt the flare of Sky Flames it was almost twice as big and bright as the last few times. Tsuna gasped and his eyes flashed with the slightest hint of orange, then his concentration slipped and the Flames disappeared, sliding back under the Seal. 

Blinking repeatedly as if the Flames in his eyes had left him temporarily blinded, Tsuna just breathed for a moment to get his breath back. Then he said, “ _ Mine.” _

And promptly blushed and ducked his head. 

“I-I mean…” he stuttered, “that was the feeling I g-got? Possessiveness and happiness and… a need to make something or somewhere for Hibari to… come back to?” Tsuna frowned and raised a hand to rub at his temple. “I don’t get that part.”

“It’s part of him being a Cloud,” Reborn offered. “Clouds are almost always very independent and usually prefer either solitude or socialisation on their terms. Forcing a Cloud into a cage of any kind is stupid - and often suicidal since they tend to be the violent sort - so a good Sky always lets their Cloud roam freely, only returning when they want to return.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Tsuna agreed. “Hibari is a law unto himself and he only really likes to talk to his Disciplinary Committee.” Tsuna chuckled. “I’ve seen people try to force Hibari to do things, even his family, and it never went well.”

“Yes, and that’s why you are so interesting. Usually, Skies are very social and charismatic. They draw people in like moths to a flame, and they tend to revel in the attention. They also tend to be powerful in some way, and that means other people often ask them for things.” 

Deciding to go all-in, Reborn dropped his masks and let his anticipation and glee shine through in his expression and his Flames for once. Tsuna’s Flames rose in response, cautious but also curious, as his eyes narrowed on Reborn.

“But  _ you  _ are a Cloudy Sky, the rarest kind of Sky,” Reborn explained. ”You probably have all the typical traits and instincts of a Sky, but they are tempered by your Cloud Flames. You will probably be less social and less altruistic then other Flame Actives will expect, and probably more violent and a lot harder to control or influence.” Reborn grinned, a sharp slash across his face that showed his gleaming teeth and wasn’t kind in any way, shape or form. “You are going to break every expectation other Flame Actives try to put on you and it’s going to be  _ wonderful _ to watch the fallout.”

Tsuna just blinked, frozen where he was sitting on the bed, unconsciously huddling back away from the hitman (creature, monster,  _ demon _ ) in front of him. Reborn had perhaps shown too much of himself considering Tsuna was still basically a civilian, but it was worth it to feel the way Tsuna’s Flames flared, his Cloud suddenly filling the room and weighing heavy and defensive-feeling on Reborn. That was a lot of Flames considering Tsuna was still mostly Sealed, even if it was his secondary Flames. 

After a moment Reborn tucked away the demonic grin, pulling his gentlemanly mask back on as he stood and lightly brushed imaginary dust off his suit. Time to leave Tsuna to his thoughts and go question Nana about these bad days instead.

“We can continue this another day,” Reborn said as he hopped down to the ground and went to leave the room. “Your Cloud Flames want me out of your territory and I have things to do.” Or rather, observations to consider and theories to build. “Oh, and Tsuna?” he said, turning to look at the Sky just before he closed the door, “since you’re skipping training today you’ll be training double as hard tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE COMMENTS! the last few days have been a little bit shit, but every time I saw the comments you've all been leaving it made me feel heaps better <3
> 
> 2\. summaries?? how to write?? any tips/hints/ideas would be welcome ><
> 
> 3\. I made a twitter! well, one for fandom stuff anyway. ocearna was taken though so if you wanna follow find me at [ocearnafan](https://twitter.com/ocearnafan) ^-^


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to KHR openings while writing this and kept getting distracted by KHR art and then reading about lion prides and uh... yep. I made a whole tweet thread about idol group!tenth gen XD 
> 
> tbh this + the first chapter are what inspired this whole story, so I'm glad to finally get to this one! also we're back to shorter chapters~ this format is much easier to write, I need to try to stick with this!
> 
> enjoy!

Later the same day, while Reborn was sitting at the dining table enjoying an espresso Nana had made, he felt another Cloudy presence approach. For a moment he considered intercepting the prefect or at least observing him but... Considering how Cloudy Tsuna was feeling and how possessive he had gotten over Hibari that morning, going anywhere near his Cloud Guardian was probably a bad idea at that time. 

Instead, Reborn had raised a hand to Leon who had scampered down his arm, jumped down to the table, and then disappeared out of sight. Leon was perfectly capable of monitoring Tsuna unseen, and even better he could record anything interesting so Reborn could watch it back later.

Notes on how a Cloudy Sky interacted with their Cloud were gold after all.

* * *

Tsuna is dozing on his bed when he feels… something. A warmth approaching quickly; one that somehow felt very familiar even though he couldn’t remember ever feeling this before. At least, not clearly…

He sat up a bit in bed, propping himself up with one arm. Despite feeling something coming, he wasn’t worried. In fact, he felt… happy? Content?

A clatter and a rattle and the door of his little veranda opened to reveal Hibari in full uniform complete with armband. He was also carrying a very familiar duffle bag. 

Tsuna huffed and flopped back down onto his bed, flapping one hand in a vague gesture of invitation. This had happened enough times by now that he and Hibari had figured out most of the rules for sharing space. Sometimes one of them would do something to set off the other and Tsuna would inevitably get a few bruises but they had a mutual understanding that meant they always forgave each other. And it wasn’t something they had really needed to talk about. It had just been… instinctive.

_ Hmm. _

Within seconds, Hibari had already strode in and cleared a space on the floor. He was quick and methodical as he unzipped the duffle bag and pulled out a rolled-up futon and a pillow. He laid both out then went to grab the spare pillows Tsuna kept in the top of his wardrobe. Tsuna also grabbed one of the pillows from his bed and threw it in roughly the right direction - he had taken an extra pillow from the cupboard recently because of the chaos his life had become.

He blamed Hibari for his love of soft, fluffy things, okay?

Once Hibari had piled up the pillows to his satisfaction and settled on them like a lion lounging on a particular comfy rock, his gaze turned to stare at Tsuna who sighed and rolled to face him. 

This would usually be where Tsuna might explain why he was feeling so bad he needed to skip school. But considering recent revelations - especially that morning - Tsuna figured it might be better to do something different this time.

“I have some information for you.”

* * *

Tsuna tried to repeat all the information Reborn and Gokudera had told him over the last few days. About the Vongola and why Reborn is there, about Flames and Reborn’s bullets, and about Guardians. Explaining Flames had gotten Tsuna a raised eyebrow and the bullets had gotten a growl. There had been a lot of enquiring hums when Tsuna hadn’t given enough details. But then Tsuna had hesitated before explaining what Reborn had said about Hibari and the Cloud had tensed slightly, his eyes narrowing. Halfway through the explanation, Hibari had suddenly sat up. Tsuna could feel a pressure start building in the room - one he knew and was wary of.

“You  _ caged _ me!?” Hibari hissed, each word dripping with anger.

Tsuna jerked upright, hands waving in a placating gesture. “No! No, Hibari, I would never do that. You know I would never do that… right?”

Hibari stared for a few more seconds, but then the pressure lessened slightly and his body relaxed just the tiniest bit. “Then what?”

“It’s, uh…” Tsuna stuttered, trying to find the words for what was so instinctual to him. And mostly unknown until that morning. Unconsciously he reached out for his Flames, as he had done that morning, for inspiration. Lost in trying to understand what he was feeling, he missed seeing Hibari relax back even more, eyes widening as that little bit of Tsuna’s Sky Flames escaped the Seal and rolled across the room. 

“I’m not trying to cage or restrict or control you in any way,” Tsuna continued, eyes flickering with tiny orange specks. “You’re… important to me. You… help me protect Namimori. You help protect  _ me. _ And in return, I want to… be a home for you?” Tsuna’s brow scrunched up, a light blush creeping into his cheeks as he tried to find words for such a personal feeling. “I want to give you somewhere to return to if that makes sense?”

“Hmm,” Hibari hummed. “Like now but for me?”

Tsuna blinked a couple of times, some of the Sky Flames clearing from the room and his eyes as he focused on Hibari’s question. “Uhh, like how you visit me on bad days?” Then his brain kicked in and he grinned and nodded madly. “Yes! Like, if you’re having a bad day, then I want to be able to help. And if you want to… I don’t know, rest or spar or something, I want to be able to give you that?”

Hibari hummed again, though now there was a tiny, minuscule smile tugging at his lips. “Spar, omnivore?”

Tsuna squeaked, his brain catching up with what he had said. “That’s--! I mean, that’s not something I can really do but uhh…”

Hibari laughed. It was only a very soft chuckle but Tsuna quickly shut up so he could listen. Hibari didn’t laugh very often at all, so it was such a treat to hear and see.

“One day, omnivore,” Hibari eventually responded.

Tsuna huffed again and once more flopped back onto his bed. “In your dreams,” he snarked back. He rolled his head to the side so he could look at Hibari as he asked, “You get what I mean though, right?”

Hibari nodded once, also shifting into a more comfortable position on the futon and pillows. “It’s just pride instincts.”

Tsuna giggled at that, amused at the response and the memories of past discussions it brought up. Most of which ended with Tsuna getting too confused or annoyed by Hibari’s ridiculous animal kingdom metaphors. “If only everything was that simple…”

* * *

Tsuna explained a few more things as he thought of them after that, but eventually, the conversation lulled into silence and Tsuna found himself drifting off again. That something deep within his brain and soul - the thing or things that were apparently his Flames - felt very content with Hibari so close. It gave Tsuna a sense of calmness and stability that he had been in short supply of recently, and he made a note to find more time to just… be around Hibari. Reborn would be okay with that since it had to do with Flames, right?

And with that thought Tsuna drifted off to sleep, Hibari watching over him. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluffy kinda filler chapter, but it sets up a few things. we're slowly starting to deviate more and more from canon after all. can you spot the hints? ;)
> 
> also, finding the right adjective to describe the way someone is talking is _hard_ ;-;
> 
> ALSO: this story officially has more kudos than anything else I've ever written??? honestly, I didn't expect anywhere near as much enthusiasm for something I just started writing on what was mostly a whim. or to be having so much fun with it. everyone's comments and kudos have been making me so very happy. so thank you! <3 <3 <3

Tsuna was roused from his afternoon nap by a feeling of something - or someone - approaching. In fact… two someones? Who felt rather familiar…

Groaning, Tsuna rolled over to mash his face into his pillow. He had been able to sense people approaching the house when he was home for a few years as a vague prickling feeling that he had always assumed was just some kind of defensive or protective instinct. But having been able to sense Hibari coming earlier and now knowing two someones were approaching and having a feeling it was Gokudera and Yamamoto without even seeing them, well. Reborn’s explanation about magical fire was making more and more sense, despite his initial - and lingering - disbelief. 

Annoying as it was to be awoken by a sense he hadn’t known he had, it was also convenient. Especially on a day like today when he didn’t like the idea of visitors, even if they were Gokudera and Yamamoto. Hibari… didn’t count.

Tsuna was going to think about that one later.

With another groan, Tsuna levered himself up into a sitting position, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to wake up faster. He and Hibari had gotten up briefly when Nana had called them to lunch, but mostly they had been napping the day away and Tsuna felt rested but lethargic.

“Visitors?” came the mumbled question from where Hibari had been napping. 

“Yeah, apparently,” Tsuna responded with a sigh. Then stopped and thought about what Hibari had just said, and turned to stare at him in surprise. “Wait - you can feel them approaching too?”

Hibari huffed, and also moved to sit up. “Can feel everyone in Namimori. But especially those two since you brought them into the pride.”

Tsuna squeaked, jolting properly upright. “Pride?? I didn’t-- That’s--”

Hibari grinned his small, sharp grin as he stood, throwing a pillow at Tsuna to make him shut up. “Pride. Barely, but there’s potential.”

The doorbell rang, saving Tsuna from having to respond to that revelation, and Tsuna vaguely heard his mum start gushing over Gokudera and Yamamoto. He sighed again and went to change out of the pyjamas he was still in. “Will you stay?”

“Hungry,” Hibari responded, already packing up the bedding he had been using. His uniform was a little rumpled, but definitely neater than Tsuna’s would have been if he had been sleeping in it for several hours. Tsuna definitely wasn’t jealous.

“Mum probably made something since you’re here,” Tsuna replied. “I don’t think I’ll invite the others in, so you might as well stay long enough to eat.”

Hibari just hummed and finished stuffing the futon into his duffle bag, stacking the pillows he had borrowed in the corner. Leaving the duffle next to the pillows, he left the room without another word as Tsuna quickly pulled on clothes he had had lying around. 

A quick visit to the bathroom and Tsuna was ready to deal with… whatever he was about to walk into. Probably. Maybe? Honestly, it was hard to tell how well he would deal with any social situation when he was like this. But, well, Gokudera and Yamamoto wanted to be his friends so they would need to get used to his bad days at some point. Might as well be early in case they decided it was too much, right?

Tsuna makes it down the stairs without tripping, which is nice. He’s not sure where Reborn is, but he can hear that Hibari is in the kitchen from the faint sounds of the kettle, probably making tea for them both. His mum is still at the front door, questioning Gokudera and Yamamoto about all kinds of things. 

He decides to save them from her interrogation, moving to stand beside her just inside the door. Gokudera lights up as soon as he sees Tsuna and Yamamoto’s plastic grin settles into something more real. 

“Tenth!” 

“Sawada!” 

Both of them pause to glance at each other in surprise, Gokudera with a scowl and Yamamoto with a grin, but then Gokudera is shouldering slightly in front of Yamamoto. “Tenth, how are you? I was worried when you said you weren’t coming to school today!”

Yamamoto laughed, not even trying to push Gokudera back. “Gokudera was panicking about it all day. It was funny to watch!” 

The bomber turned on Yamamoto with a snarl, a hint of red rising on his cheeks. “I did not! Don’t tell the Tenth lies! He said he was fine and obviously I trust his judgement about that!”

It was Nana’s turn to laugh, a soft giggle at Gokudera and Yamamoto’s antics. “Ahh, to be young again.” She turned to look at Tsuna. “Will you be inviting them in?”

“Ah,” Tsuna stuttered out. He had already decided not to, but now that he had to say it to their faces it was a lot harder. Especially with the warmth he could feel radiating from them at this proximity; a warmth that was partly countering his annoyance with having to socialise. “I’m not-- I don’t-- No?”

Tsuna saw Gokudera’s face fall only to be covered a second later by a smile almost as fake as the one Yamamoto was suddenly sporting again. Nana just smiled and nodded though, turning to head back into the house with an absent wave. 

“I thought so. Good to meet you both!”

Tsuna watched her go then turned back to his friends, wincing at the expressions on their faces. Yamamoto apparently caught it, his fake grin widening as he said, “It’s fine Tsuna! You’re probably busy and we just wanted to check in on you!”

Gokudera nodded quickly, not to be outdone. “Of course it’s okay! If you need your space Tenth, we’ll leave you alone until you want to see us again!”

Tsuna was caught between squeaking at their enthusiasm towards not bothering him (which, what?) and sighing at the misunderstanding. “It’s not like that,” he ended up saying, hands raising placatingly. “I’m just... having a bad day, and I-- I can’t really deal with people right now. It happens sometimes, and I usually just wait it out.”

Yamamoto was still smiling that awful smile but his eyes had narrowed in consideration. “A bad day? Are you sick, Tsuna?”

Before he could answer, there was suddenly a weight on his shoulder and a hair gripping his hair. “Dame-Tsuna is just being very Cloudy today,” came Reborn’s high-pitched voice.

The sudden look of realisation and even slight fear on Gokudera’s face was almost amusing. Yamamoto just looked confused though, glancing between Tsuna and Reborn. “Cloudy?”

And then Tsuna remembered that Yamamoto didn’t know about Flames.

This time he actually did squeak, fumbling for an explanation then remembering the description Reborn had originally given him. “It’s a… personality thing?” Tsuna tried. “Clouds are usually not very social and very, um, territorial?”

Reborn tugged on his hair slightly, just short of it being painful. “Hibari Kyoya is also a Cloud, though to a greater extent than Dame-Tsuna is.”

“Ohh,” Yamamoto said, grin shifting to something a little more real despite the confusion not quite leaving his eyes. “So Tsuna is behaving like Hibari today?”

Tsuna chuckled weakly, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Something like that, yeah.”

Gokudera, apparently tired of being ignored, gave a shallow bow and stepped back to where he had been standing beside Yamamoto. “Apologies for interrupting your day then Tenth! We’ll leave you alone now!”

Tsuna squeaked again, flailing as he tried to gesture for Gokudera to stand up. Why the bowing?? That was so embarrassing and was probably just confusing Yamamoto again!

“It’s fine!” he almost shouted, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. “You didn’t know and… I appreciate you checking on me! This is just a thing that happens sometimes though, so… I guess now you’ll know what’s happening next time?”

Yamamoto laughed, wrapping one arm around Gokudera’s shoulders to drag him back to standing in a way that had Gokudera hissing at him. “I get it Tsuna. Some days you just wanna be left alone, hey. We’ll leave you to it!”

“Thanks,” Tsuna replied, almost surprising himself with how much he meant it. “Hibari is making tea, so I should go join him before he gets mad that I’m wasting good tea or something. I should be fine in a day or so though so… I’ll see you at school?” The last sentence was offered like an olive branch, a hint of hope that Tsuna hadn’t completely messed up their friendships in his voice. 

Gokudera’s answering smile was almost blinding and Yamamoto’s grin finally lost its fake edge again. And down in Tsuna’s soul, he felt something that might have been answering flares of hope from two Flames that weren’t his own. Maybe. If he was willing to let himself dream that they really wanted to be friends with him. 

“See you then, Tsuna!” came Yamamoto’s answer as he waved with his free hand and used his other arm to start turning Gokudera to leave. Gokudera managed to get in a short bow as he responded, “Goodbye Tenth!” before Yamamoto’s dragging made his feet move and he started hissing at the athlete again instead.

Tsuna grinned despite himself, amused and starting to feel less wound up as he watched them leave his yard. He was maybe starting to see that potential Hibari had mentioned, just the slightest bit. 

Waving at their backs, Tsuna gently closed the door and started towards the kitchen. Confusing questions and potential existential crises could come later. For now, he had tea to drink and whatever delicious thing his mum had cooked to eat. 

* * *

A couple of metres down the street Yamamoto suddenly froze, tugging Gokudera to a stop too. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows were raised in confusion and disbelief. 

Gokudera finally managed to disentangle himself and turned on the other teen, snarling, “Oi, what the hell’s your problem now?”

Yamamoto blinked for a moment then slowly turned his head to stare at Gokudera. 

“Did he say _Hibari_ was making tea?!?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsuna gets frustrated at Yamamoto (and all their idiot peers) and Yamamoto reveals a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK!!! first:
> 
>  **TW: mentions of takeshi and tsuyoshi grieving the death of takeshi's mum**
> 
> next: this took so long, gah, sorry! the tldr is that I watched parts of the anime after the last chapter and got canon!tsuna and cloudy!tsuna mixed up. somehow. XD there was also a lot of angsting over Takeshi's characterisation involved and you can thank [Angelic_Xia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelic_Xia/pseuds/Angelic_Xia) and their lovely fic [Running from the Mafia, Running to You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23132809/chapters/55356052) for kicking me out of that funk!
> 
> I read that yesterday and today I had some free time (finally) so I decided to rewrite this chapter from scratch and use a different angle and IT WORKED!! huzzah! I did end up missing a couple of the points in my other drafts but oh well, I'll add them to later chapters. 
> 
> and yes, I'm going all in on the Shigure Kintoki fanon lore >:D
> 
> since it's been a while since I updated - this chapter will probably make more sense if you remember/re-read the conversation between Tsuna and Takeshi in chapter 7. 
> 
> enjoy!

Gokudera and Yamamoto are waiting outside his gate when Tsuna leaves for school on Monday morning, bickering (Gokudera) and laughing (Yamamoto). Gokudera had started doing this the day after their “battle”, claiming it was his responsibility to protect Tsuna while he was out and about. Tsuna had been surprised when he had felt Yamamoto approach through his Flames though - both because he hadn’t expected it and because he was still adjusting to being about to sense people like that. Although, based on the fact that he wasn’t constantly distracted by random people walking past, it seemed to mostly be Gokudera, Yamamoto and Hibari that caused such a strong reaction with his Flames. Which made sense, based on what Reborn had been saying - and not saying. 

Regardless, Tsuna is glad of the warning because it means he knows to grab three cookies from Nana’s stash that morning, handing one to each of his friends when he goes out to greet them. Gokudera reacts with surprise and then overwhelming gratitude, while Yamamoto just says thanks, his grin settling into something a little more natural. Around his own mouthful of cookie, Tsuna asks them both how their weekend went, and they settle surprisingly easily into playful chatter.

It’s a bit odd to Tsuna, this experience of walking to school with friends and talking about whatever comes to mind, but it’s also very nice. He can already tell that there will be days where he won’t be able to stand even this, but for now, he’s happy to trudge along and enjoy the way his Flames - particularly the quieter part that has been showing up more and more lately - bask in Gokudera and Yamamoto’s presence. 

Unfortunately, the perfect atmosphere starts to fracture the first time they run into someone who knows Yamamoto. The other student calls a greeting and an enquiry about Yamamoto’s arm, and Yamamoto’s smile becomes that painfully wide grin that Tsuna hates so much. Yamamoto brushes off the student’s concern and politely waves him off, but his smile and tone and body language don’t quite go back to the relaxed state of minutes before. 

The second student they run into only says hello, and that goes okay. The third asks about baseball though, and when Yamamoto thinks he’ll be able to go back to practice, and Tsuna frowns darkly as he watches Yamamoto’s expression shut down and his shoulders tense up as he replies.

By the time they’ve reached the school, Yamamoto has settled almost completely back into the smiley, happy-go-lucky baseball idiot persona that he’s known for being and Tsuna is having to fight to control his temper. Even Gokudera seems to have noticed something is wrong - probably mostly from how Tsuna is acting - and has cut back a bit on the snide comments, instead quizzing them both on an assignment they all have due soon. 

Tsuna’s mood hasn’t improved at all by the time lunch rolls around, so without thinking about it at all he quickly collects his lunch then heads for the roof.

The scrape of chairs behind him and two sets of hurried footsteps is enough to tell him that Gokudera and Yamamoto are following, and is confirmed by his Flame sense (which he really needs to ask Reborn about another day). Tsuna pauses briefly when he’s almost at the roof, realising that this could go badly if Hibari has also decided to retreat there today. But then he decides that his new friends will need to learn to deal with Hibari eventually anyway and he’s too pissed off to last the day if he spends lunch around other people, so Tsuna continues on regardless.

Luckily, when they reach the roof Hibari isn’t there. Tsuna leads the other two out into the empty space, then realises that going near the edges isn’t a great idea - the thought of it is enough to make him wary right now, he can’t imagine how Yamamoto would feel about going anywhere near the fences. He doesn’t want to sit against the stairwell door either though, in case Hibari comes up and wants to nap there, so he chooses a spot in the middle and promptly sits down and starts aggressively unpacking his lunch.

Gokudera and Yamamoto settle around him in a sort of triangle formation, both weirdly silent as they also start eating. They keep sending glances at Tsuna and occasionally at eat other though, and eventually, after Tsuna is halfway through his lunch and has calmed down a little bit, he sighs and puts his lunch and chopsticks down.

“What?” Tsuna asks flatly, glancing between the other two.

Gokudera and Yamamoto both stare at him for a moment, then each other. Yamamoto finally relents and also sets down his lunch, turning his gaze to Tsuna. “You’re angry,” he says, his tone soft and careful. It almost sounds like he’s trying to coax a dangerous animal, and Tsuna isn’t sure whether or not he likes that comparison. “You’ve been slowly getting angrier all day, and we’re not sure why? And we want to help, if we can, so… What’s wrong?”

Tsuna just stares back for a good while, weighing up social niceties versus bluntness, and trying to read anything he can from that sixth sense of this. Unfortunately the latter refuses to give him any clues, and his bad mood means his patience for politeness is almost nonexistent, so he unthinkingly replies, “You. You’re what’s wrong, Yamamoto.”

He regrets his words almost as soon as they leave his mouth as Yamamoto recoils, his expression shutting down almost completely. Tsuna’s brain catches up - and why does this always happen to him when he’s dealing with Yamamoto?? - and he scrambles for how to fix this and explain himself properly.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto utters an incredibly fake and weak sounding laugh, moving to roughly pack up his lunch again. “Maa, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” he says. “I figured this wouldn’t last.”

Tsuna’s hands flutter in the air - half wanting to reach out to Yamamoto while also not knowing how to or even if that would be the right thing to do - and, tone panicked, he rushes out, “Wait! No, I mean-- It’s not  _ you _ you, Yamamoto, it’s just--” He groans and scrubs a hand through his hair roughly, expression annoyed at how hard it is to find the right words. He finally blurts out, “Why do you still act like that around everyone else??”

Yamamoto pauses in the process of standing, ending up half-crouched as he stares down at Tsuna, his eyes wide in confusion even as his body language still screams defensive anger. 

“What?” Yamamoto asks, the word harsh and clipped. Oddly enough, it actually makes Tsuna relax a bit. This feels… more like the real Yamamoto. Not the Yamamoto he sees in the classroom or even the Yamamoto who had greeted him that morning, but the Yamamoto he had seen briefly the last time they were on the roof. The dark and dangerous Yamamoto who sets off warning bells in Tsuna’s head and at the same time makes his Flames practically purr.

“Sit, please?” Tsuna asks, his tone pleading and apologetic. The shock of saying something so wrong and having to scramble to find a better explanation has pushed back much of his anger, and now he tries to set aside the rest so he can actually concentrate on what he’s saying. Yamamoto isn’t Hibari after all, and Tsuna will have to actually use his words for once to explain what he’s feeling. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’ll need a minute to work out how to say what I do mean though.”

Yamamoto just looks at Tsuna searchingly for several long seconds before sitting back down. He doesn’t unpack his lunch again though, and neither Tsuna nor Gokudera - who is doing his best to fade into the background in the face of Tsuna’s angry Flames - comment on it. 

Tsuna takes a few minutes to think things through, closing his eyes so he can concentrate better. Without opening them, he hesitantly starts, “It’s the… acting. I hate it. I’ve always seen it - the way you smile and laugh to make everyone else like you, even when you’re… mad or upset. I hate how fake it is, and how you let so much slide with just a smile. I hate that you let other people take advantage of you because they can’t see past the mask and think that’s actually who you are. And... I hate that you feel like it’s necessary at all.

“I guess that’s the main thing,” Tsuna continues, finally opening his eyes to gaze at Yamamoto, attempting to convey with his eyes what he can’t put into words. “I can’t understand why you do it; why you put so much effort into making others like you. Especially after our conversation the other day. Why do you continue to use the mask when you’ve seen how fickle everyone else is? Why do you continue to act when you could just… be yourself?” Tsuna’s gaze sharpens, and his eyes gain a tiny flicker of orange. “Why are you so scared to show the world who you really are?”

There is silence, once again, for several seconds. Yamamoto stares at Tsuna with surprise and bafflement, his anger mostly gone, while Gokudera glances between them anxiously. Then Yamamoto sighs and leans back, bracing himself with his hands so he can stare up at the sky. 

“My mum died when I was a kid,” he starts. “Before that, dad was around but he was also busy with the shop and the dojo, so it was mostly mum who raised me. When she died he… was a mess, for quite a while. But so was I - always crying and shouting and throwing tantrums.” Yamamoto’s lips quirked up into something that was sad and almost - but not quite - amused. “It took me a couple of months, but eventually I realised that dad’s worst days were usually the day after  _ my  _ bad days. Because… he was grieving too, but also suddenly trying to look after me all by himself. And every time I cried or screamed he would… miss mum more and get mad at himself for ‘failing’ to look after me properly. And it would just become this vicious cycle, where we would get mad at ourselves and each other and the world and…”

Sighing again, Yamamoto tilted his head down so he could meet Tsuna’s gaze again, although he didn’t sit up. “One day I realised that… dad was all I had left, y’know? And that I hated causing him so much pain. So I… stopped complaining to him. I stopped telling him when something hurt. I stopped telling him when other kids were mean. And over time he stopped being so sad and angry and then he started smiling again and… I decided I wanted to see him smile more. So I started telling him silly things and showing off stupid tricks I copied from the other kids. I joined a baseball team because I knew he liked the sport. And I started smiling as much as I could because… well, the more I smiled, the more he smiled back.”

Yamamoto looks half lost in his memories, echoes of the pain he had felt back then playing across his face. Tsuna waits several seconds, expecting more to follow. When it doesn’t, he starts trying to think of how to respond but he comes up empty. He is still working on understanding Yamamoto’s story, let alone responding appropriately.

Thankfully, Gokudera is better with his words. “So that’s why you keep up the stupid smile all the time?” he asks, his tone carefully even and not at all pitying or snide or sarcastic, despite his wording.

This time Yamamoto actually huffs a tiny laugh, his lips twisting again into something slightly more positive as he looks at Gokudera for the first time in a while. “Yeah,” he agrees. “It became a habit pretty quickly and then I found it was useful in other situations too - making friends at school, getting teachers to like me… It just made things so much  _ easier.  _ I guess I also added other things to the act over time and now it’s… well. It’s how I’m used to acting around other people, so I just keep doing it.”

Tsuna finally finds his voice, now that Yamamoto’s mood seems to have improved slightly. “Last time we were up here when we… talked, I suggested you stop caring about what other people think, stop acting, and just be yourself. Do you… not want to do that?” he asks hesitantly. 

“Maa,” Yamamoto hums, looking up at the sky again. “I’ve been thinking about what you said a lot actually. And I think… I think I would like that, eventually. It does get irritating, having to maintain the mask all the time, no matter what. And not… really having any friend that  _ know _ me because of it. But I’m so used to it, and it makes things so much easier while we’re stuck in school… I think I’ll keep doing it for now. Plus,” he adds, pausing for a moment as if unsure of what he’s about to say, “there’s another reason too.”

Tsuna frowns. “What other reason?” he asks.

Yamamoto doesn’t answer for a second, still staring at the sky then says, “This,” and  _ changes _ . 

It isn’t anything about his appearance - he still looks like the Yamamoto they know. But there’s a shift in this body language that introduces an edge of danger, like a coiled snake ready to strike. His eyes have gone flinty and hard where he is staring down at them, his face still tipped towards the sky. And there’s something about the way his face sets into stone-cold blankness that is distinctly unnerving. 

And yet… Tsuna relaxes. His shoulders drop, his hands unclench and a smile blooms on his face. And his  _ Flames _ \- they pour out of him to wrap around Yamamoto, the orange Sky Flame that he is only just adjusting to stretched to its limit and still trying to pull more from that place within his soul. 

Yamamoto flinches, just barely, at the first touch of Tsuna’s Flames. Then, as they only curl protectively and possessively around his, he relaxes just a touch as well. His face softens, the tiniest smile making one side of his lips quirk up. 

“I wondered if I’d get to see  _ this _ you again,” Tsuna murmurs, half his attention on the way his Flames are rubbing against Yamamoto like a cat. And Gokudera too, though to a lesser extent. It’s still enough that the Storm has slumped where he sits, looking shocked and in awe. 

“Oh?” Yamamoto asks, even his voice sounding somehow older and more dangerous. 

“Yeah,” Tsuna replies, still distracted. “I caught a glimpse last time we were up here, but I wasn’t sure if it was just because of… the situation or what.”

Yamamoto’s expression flickers with surprise - so not a perfect stone mask after all - and then with something that looks like confusion and relief rolled into one emotion. “You… aren’t scared of me, like this?”

Tsuna shrugs and glances pointedly towards the stairwell where Hibari seems to be napping on the roof, having appeared at some point during their discussion. “I’ve been friends with Hibari since we were children. Why would you think this would scare me off?”

There is silence for a few long moments while Yamamoto once again searches Tsuna’s face for whatever he is looking for. Whatever he finds, it makes him huff in amusement and suddenly the dangerous edge disappears behind a smile, Yamamoto shaking himself briefly like a dog shaking off water. Tsuna starts pulling his Flames back in response, ignoring Gokudera’s barely-there groan as the Flames wrapping around him withdraw. He also ignores the tiredness that suddenly seeps into his bones, knowing that he needs to push through with this conversation. 

“Most people get scared when I’m like that,” Yamamoto explains, tone careful and slightly sad but also hopeful. “Dad says it’s something that runs in the family, being able to go into that… state, and that he’ll teach me to harness if it if I need it. But he’d rather I didn’t, for whatever reason. So I hide it behind a laugh and usually that gives me enough time control it, even when it gets triggered by me being angry or upset or something.”

“What is  _ it _ ?” Gokudera asks, his tone much sharper than earlier. He also looks like he’s concealing excitement, what with the way his eyes are sparkling and he’s almost bouncing in place. 

Yamamoto just shrugs, finally sitting up properly and his hands moving to rest on top of his lunch - not unpacking it again, just resting there. “No idea. It just tries to take over sometimes when my emotions are strong. Like, I get angry and then  _ whoosh _ there’s this cold feeling in my chest and it’s trying to take over my mind too, and if I let it then it’s like  _ whoomp _ and my brain just feels kinda different. Y’know?”

Tsuna can tell by the look on Gokudera’s face that he  _ doesn’t _ know - but then, neither does Tsuna - and he decides to take over the conversation again before they derail it into an argument. 

“So… you hide that behind your mask so you don’t scare people?” Tsuna asks, trying to make sure he understood everything Yamamoto had explained. “And you made the mask to make your dad happy but you keep using it because it makes life easier?”

“Maa, basically,” Yamamoto agrees. His gaze turns sharp and his smile fades as he continues, “Is that a problem?”

Tsuna doesn’t reply immediately, taking the time to think this through properly. He hates lies and much prefers the simplicity of people being themselves, so he does hate the acting and how fake it makes Yamamoto feel. But he can also sort of understand Yamamoto’s reasons. Not perfectly - he doesn’t care enough about other people to put in so much effort to make them comfortable - but he can certainly understand about Yamamoto’s dad. After all, if it was his mum in that situation… Tsuna would probably do the same. Was already doing the same, perhaps, since he had already lied to her a couple of times about the shenanigans that have happened since Reborn arrived. 

And he supposed he could understand - to an extent - trying not to scare people. He had never had to, but he knew that Hibari disliked anyone (other than himself) scaring the citizens of Namimori. If Yamamoto went around terrifying people every time he got mad, Hibari would very quickly hate him. 

Trying to make people like you was something Tsuna had given up on years before, but he did know the theoretical reason for it. Mostly from Kusakabe unsuccessfully lecturing Hibari over the years, but still. Perhaps it wasn’t the worst habit to have, especially considering how… blunt Hibari, Gokudera and himself were… Actually, yes. Thinking about it that way - looking at the similarities between Yamamoto and Kusakabe - helped Tsuna understand it a bit better. He still didn’t like the acting, but considering it might have its uses…

Tsuna realises he’s been quiet for quite a few minutes when Yamamoto shifts restlessly, hand clenching briefly around the container for his lunch. He hums, trying to gather his thoughts one last time, then says, “No, now that I know why you do it, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. At least when we’re in public. But...” Tsuna trails off, searching for words again.

Yamamoto looks surprised and then excited, but it’s tempered by a hint of wariness. “What’s the catch?” he asks.

After a moment, Tsuna asks, “Please try not to act when it’s just us?” his voice careful and his gaze hopeful. “You’re not going to scare us off, and I hope you don’t feel like you need to… trick us into liking you. I want to know  _ you _ ,” Tsuna says, his voice gaining strength and conviction as he talks. “Not whatever lies you think I want to see. I want to know the real you, no matter the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parts, and more than anything I want  _ you _ to feel comfortable with being yourself around us, even if you never feel comfortable being yourself around others.  _ Especially _ then. And if you’re ever not okay with it then… tell us, please? And we can talk about it, like today, and try to figure it out. Together. As friends.”

Yamamoto just blinks for several seconds, his expression flicking through a variety of emotions. Eventually, it settles on a happiness so bright it’s almost blinding, with hints of something more delicate hidden underneath. And then he launches himself at Tsuna, ending up half draped over Tsuna in a hug. Tsuna squeaks and blushes, all seriousness gone in the face of Yamamoto’s hug attack, and Yamamoto himself is laughing where he’s pressed his face into Tsuna’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Tsuna,” he mumbles into Tsuna’s shoulder. “Thank you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually do two chapter notes but... how was that? to anyone who re-read, did anything not match up? I have so much planned, it can be hard to keep track of what has and hasn't actually made it into a chapter yet... >_<
> 
> also: are there any loose ends or character insights you're really, really curious about? because atm I plan for the next chapter to actually move the plot forward quite a bit, so if you have any requests for fluffy things, now's your chance to ask :P hint: Dino may be involved
> 
> ALSO: if you haven't seen, I did post a few other things while struggling with this chapter!  
> \- **[Overcast Dawn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23642911/chapters/56746042): prequel to this fic, is now finished!**  
> \- [family](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24625798): a Skull-centric Arcobaleno short  
> \- [lessons in deception](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24717175/chapters/59744119%22): a short multi-chapter about the Arcobaleno harassing Tsuna at some nebulous point in the future post-manga, written for a reader's prompt and basically an excuse for silliness and chaos XD
> 
> I have been writing so much o.o I blame everyone on khr anitwt :P 
> 
> see you all next time!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter from Reborn's point of view as we timeskip a little. 
> 
> (AKA the chapter where we mostly throw the canon timeline out the window.)

The following days are... interesting. 

Tsuna and Yamamoto have obviously taken to heart what they discussed on the roof that day. Yamamoto’s masks fall little by little - though only around Tsuna and Gokudera - as his faith in Tsuna increases. Tsuna tries to have more patience for Yamamoto’s acting around other people, often watching the Rain carefully where before he would have looked away, attempting to find the reason behind each smile and laugh.

Sometimes it gets to be too much though. Some days someone in their class or the baseball team says something to Yamamoto that makes him shut down for a while, hiding behind his masks while he gets his equilibrium back. Some days Tsuna’s tolerance for lies - even pretty little white lies - is basically non-existent and he withdraws a bit, usually taking lunch alone or with Hibari.

Initially, Gokudera tries to follow Tsuna on such days. But he can tell that Tsuna deals with the rest of the day better when he leaves him alone at lunch so - as much as it pains him - Gokudera decides to follow the baseball idiot instead. At first, Yamamoto seems baffled by Gokudera’s choice, but then he apparently decides to just roll with it. Having someone stick around seems to help him recover faster too - and Gokudera, remembering both the conversations on the roof between Tsuna and Yamamoto, starts to build his own theories about Yamamoto’s behaviour and habits.

Personally, Reborn takes a step back to watch over all four of them from a distance, carefully cataloguing every interaction. He also researches the Yamamotos, quickly finding a barely-hidden link to Vongola Primo’s Rain Guardian. And then he tracks down Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, recognises the man as a retired assassin known for wielding a Muramasa blade, and suddenly Takeshi Yamamoto makes a lot more sense. Bloodthirsty blades aren’t a new concept within the Mafia after all, even if they are rare, and Reborn has heard enough stories to recognise a possessed family when he finds one. 

He finds it interesting that Tsuyoshi apparently hasn’t trained Takeshi in the blade yet, despite the dojo attached to their house and shop, but supposes the man had been hoping to keep his son away from the criminal life he had escaped from. Unfortunately for him, an Asari wielding a Muramasa blade sounds like a great Guardian candidate to Reborn, so instead of backing off, Reborn starts dropping hints to Tsuna about how to deal with Rains.

“Rains play the long game,” Reborn tells Tsuna one day when as the Sky walks home from school, Reborn riding on his shoulder. Tsuna’s patience had snapped early in the day so they’re alone, and Reborn is taking the opportunity to teach Tsuna more about his Guardians. Especially Yamamoto. “Unlike Storms who tend to strike fast and hard, Rains will devise a plan that takes  _ years _ to execute, and they rarely fail to pull off whatever they have set their minds to. They tend to be too stubborn and goal-oriented for that to happen.”

Tsuna hums, taking his time to think about Reborn’s words and slot the concepts into his understanding of the world - a habit Reborn had noticed early on and started trying to cultivate. “That’s part of why Yamamoto does the… acting thing, isn’t it? It’s part of some long plan to…” Tsuna trails off, frowning. And despite Tsuna’s inability to grasp this part of Yamamoto’s motivations - yet - Reborn feels rather proud. 

Originally Reborn didn’t intend to explain Flames in this much detail until later - if ever - but he’s found that a lot of the time Tsuna just needs a nudge to understand such things. Reborn suspects it’s a side-effect of the Seal - that Tsuna can’t instinctively understand Flames as he should as a Sky, but can slot the pieces into place when someone explains them. It’s the one thing in which tutoring Tsuna is easy. Reborn has a theory, based on the flickers he keeps feeling from Tsuna’s Flames, that it’s also helping wear down the Seal without resorting to the Dying Will Bullets, so he’s perfectly willing to put time into it. Breaking the Seal without traumatising Tsuna as much isn’t as entertaining, but it  _ is _ better for Tsuna’s long-term mental health and Flame control. 

“Yes,” Reborn confirms. “Skies are usually rather good at long plans as well, but Clouds are generally very reactionary, so that may always be something you’ll have trouble understanding,” he adds in warning. Tsuna’s frown deepens, and Reborn lets the conversation lull to give Tsuna time to think.

In between tutoring and observing the fledgling tenth generation, Reborn also takes the chance to properly rework his plans. Obviously, at some point, Tsuna will need more Guardians, though with three potentials that can wait for now. He also needs more training in all kinds of things - fighting, for sure, but also Italian and Mafia history and more general things like politics. Reborn decides not to push too much too early though - after all, getting a Cloud to do something requires subtlety and careful persuasion, not his usual methods - and mostly lets Tsuna and his current Guardians bond in their own time. With just enough… excitement (in the form of “games” with rubber bullets and rubber mallets and hungry dogs) to keep their Dying Wills simmering.

A couple of weeks into training Tsuna, Reborn hears from one of his many sources that Poison Scorpion Bianchi has been looking for him. A few days later another contact tells him that she has been spotted in Tokyo, and Reborn decides to step in and head her off. Between Tsuna’s Cloudy personality and Bianchi’s ability to turn anything she touches into poison, and the way Tsuna and Yamamoto are still dancing around each other, Reborn figures Bianchi might do more harm than good this early on. Instead, he organises a place for her to stay a couple of towns over and sets up a secure communication channel so he can call her if she’s needed. Having backup nearby never hurts, after all. 

He also takes some time to hide his own location better, in an attempt to keep the hopeful assassins and such to a minimum, at least for now. That annoying Bovino brat that has been stalking him for the last couple of months - scarily well, actually - is far too close, so Reborn sends him on a wild goose chase to China. He knows Fon is at home at the moment and the Storm Arcobaleno has a soft spot for dangerous little brats - for who knows  _ what _ reason - so Reborn probably isn’t sending the Bovino to his death. And hopefully, by the time the brat realises the trail is fake, Tsuna and his Guardians will be stable enough that the baby Lightning might even be a beneficial addition to Namimori. 

With all that sorted, Reborn looks at his other plans and tries to decide what to do next. He doesn’t want Tsuna to get too comfortable, but any of his more… disruptive plans are too likely to backfire against a Cloudy Sky. He has two ideas that still might work though…

Reborn starts planning, knowing both ideas will probably have to be timed just right to catch Tsuna on good days to be successful. One of them he can act on whenever though, while the other…

Leon climbs onto his hand and shifts into a phone at barely a thought from Reborn, already dialling the right number. Reborn only has to wait for a few rings before it’s answered, the person on the other end huffing as if they had dashed to answer the phone quickly. 

“Hello?”

“Good to see you’ve remembered your lessons about answering random numbers,” Reborn taunts.

“Reborn!” the voice responds, surprise and a hint of trepidation shining through. “It’s good to hear from you! I was in a meeting though, and I should get back quickly if possible. I mean-- Sorry! But I really should--”

“I’ll make this quick then,” Reborn cuts in with an audible smirk that promises pain later on. “The thing we talked about last time - I’m looking at moving up the schedule. How soon could you get here?”

There’s a pause on the other side, then the sound of papers shuffling and some muttering. “I’m not quite sure. At least a week, possibly two depending on if I can rearrange certain things. I could probably give you a definite answer in--” Some more muttering, then, “Two days? Does that work for you?”

“Two days,” Reborn confirms, making it a promise. “You better have it sorted by then, pipsqueak-Dino,” he adds, then hangs up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> headcanon: leon has /a lot/ of sim cards stored away and when he turns into a phone he picks one at random to call from, so people never know it's Reborn calling from the number. dino has ~~(been trained)~~ learned to panic whenever he gets a call from an unknown number.
> 
> also hi! originally this was going to be a very different chapter but then I realised we needed a bit of a bridge to that chapter, and then I got another idea... so now that'll be in two chapters' time :P but still, the plot is finally moving along! 
> 
> btw, I may move chapter 3 out to a standalone thing in the series, so don't be surprised if the chapter numbers go weird. was re-reading Overcast the other day and realised it's a bit out of place, so.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While waiting for one plan to be finalised, Reborn sets another into motion. Tsuna meets a certain boxing-obsessed Sun. It goes well (to the surprise and horror of everyone except Reborn).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...hi? ^-^;; I got stuck on this chapter for ages, sorry! ended up scrapping my original plan and just letting the characters write it themselves and ofc that went a lot better. XD enjoy!
> 
> the longer story: I started writing this story at a point when lockdown had gotten to me and I was getting stuck in my head way too often and was honestly quite depressed. writing this and chatting with everyone in the comments helped me work through some things enough that I found the energy to get myself to a psychologist. I've spent the last 6 months working through things properly, and dealing with the emotional mess that that caused me to be, but I am in a much, _much_ better place now thanks to it. and whenever things got really bad I'd come back to this and read all your lovely comments and even the bookmark descriptions and that helped me a lot with getting through things so <3 <3 <3 love you all!
> 
> I've also done the rounds of my usual fandoms over the last few months and have written a few other short things, so I have some other KHR fics and even some Spider-Man x Deadpool fics up if you would like to check those out!

While he waits for Dino to sort out his schedule, Reborn sets his other plan into motion with a few rumours in the right ears and a bit of well-intentioned sabotage. Then it’s just a matter of getting Tsuna into the right place at the right time, and preferably when he’s not feeling  _ too _ Cloudy.

* * *

Reborn changes the route for Tsuna’s morning run the day after he decides to implement this plan so that when Reborn actually executes it a couple of days later Tsuna doesn’t suspect anything. Forcing Tsuna to do a few more stretches and dragging out their usual bickering makes Tsuna a little bit late to start running, but Reborn doesn’t mention it. After all, if he’s timed this right (which he has, of course) then just around this corner should be…

_ Thump _ .

Tsuna goes flying back from the impact, but Reborn gracefully jumps clear. The other person only stumbles back a bit, quickly correcting their balance. Tsuna groans and sits up, rubbing at the back of his head, and the other’s gaze snaps to him. 

“I’m extremely sorry!” they nearly shout, stepping forward with an embarrassed expression and a handheld out in an offer to help Tsuna up. “I extremely wasn’t watching where I was going!”

Briefly recoiling from the sudden noise and the hand that had appeared in front of his face, Tsuna blinks up at the stranger. Then, deciding to take the olive branch, Tsuna grabs the hand and lets himself be lifted to his feet - and very much  _ lifted _ , as he is hauled up without any apparent effort by the other. 

“It’s alright,” Tsuna replies, trying to give a small smile to reinforce his words. “I wasn’t watching where I was going either.” Then he frowns, trying to figure out why the short white hair and manic grin looks familiar. “Do you go to Namimori Middle too?”

The other’s smile turns blinding and his voice gets even louder (unfortunately). “Yes!! I’m Ryohei Sasagawa, captain of Namimori Middle’s extreme boxing club!”

Tsuna blinks, a little startled. “Tsunayoshi Sawada,” he manages, his brain still trying to piece things together. Then it clicks: “Oh! You’re Kyoko Sasagawa’s brother!”

Somehow, Sasagawa lights up  _ even more _ . “YOU KNOW KYOKO?” he roars, suddenly up in Tsuna’s face and practically vibrating with how excited he is. 

Bristling slightly at the invasion of his space but trying to ignore it, Tsuna takes a quick step back. “Yeah, we’re c-classmates.”

Surprisingly, Ryohei also steps back and tones it down slightly, though he’s still grinning madly and talking far too loudly. “I’m glad Kyoko has such an extreme classmate!”

“What?” Tsuna mutters. “Extreme? Me?”

“Yeah!” Ryohei exclaims. He gestures at Tsuna’s outfit - a hoodie, cargo pants and sports shoes. “You’re up early to train too, right!? It’s extremely nice to meet another person who trains before school!”

Tsuna huffs, a little bit of amusement and a lot of exasperation in his tone, as he sends a sideways glance at the tree he thinks Reborn is hiding in. “My home tutor insists on exercising in the morning,” he admits.

“Your tutor sounds very smart!” Ryohei yells back, pumping his fist. “Morning training is the best!” Then he pauses, his face settling into something thoughtful for a few seconds before: “SAWADA!” Ryohei yells.

“...Yes?” Tsuna asks hesitantly.

“WE SHOULD TRAIN TOGETHER!”

* * *

It takes some intercession on his part, but Reborn is very pleased when his plan comes together and Tsuna agrees to morning training with Ryohei three times a week. They meet up at the park near Tsuna’s house at 5:30 and run together for half an hour before splitting off. Ryohei keeps up a steady stream of commentary as they run, with Tsuna occasionally responding between panted breaths, and his presence seems to fascinate Tsuna and drive him to put in more effort than Tsuna otherwise would have.

Ryohei Sasagawa also radiates Sun Flames in a way that is familiar to Reborn from his own childhood, and Reborn knows it is only a matter of time before Tsuna realises something is up. 

It only takes one week of joint training sessions.

* * *

Tsuna is sprawled on the school roof, having finished his lunch and now just gazing over what he can see of Namimori from his vantage point. Hibari is nowhere to be seen for once, though Tsuna was texting earlier so Reborn suspects the Cloud is off dealing with some problem.

“...Reborn?” Tsuna asks hesitantly. The hitman is only half surprised. He doubts Tsuna  _ knew _ he was there, but he follows Tsuna around enough that the teen probably just assumed he was somewhere nearby. Or at least listening in. 

“Yes?” Reborn asks as he pops out of his hiding space in a fake air conditioning unit. 

Tsuna doesn’t even glance at him, still staring out over Namimori. After a moment, Reborn realises he’s specifically looking towards his house - the core of his territory. 

“...What Flame type is Ryohei?” Tsuna asks. 

Reborn tilts his fedora down to hide his smirk, striding over to stand beside Tsuna. “Why do you think he has Active Flames?”

Tsuna shrugs. “I can feel  _ something _ whenever we’re training together. It’s sort of similar to you - kind of… bright and hot - but also like Yamamoto in that it’s… muted? I think that’s me, not Ryohei, though.”

Well, that’s interesting. Reborn wishes he had a way to check on the Seal apart from educated guesses based on Tsuna’s Flame output and occasionally poking it with his own Sun Flames. It sounds like it’s cracked even further if Tsuna is starting to pick up on Flames types with only this much exposure to someone. 

It’s also interesting that Tsuna is sensing the potential bond with Ryohei. Reborn has to swallow back an evil cackle.

_ All according to plan, _ he thinks gleefully.

“Ryohei is a Sun,” Reborn finally replies. “Like me,” he confirms. “Suns tend to burn brightly and unapologetically, and have a lot of energy due to their Flame characteristic being “activation”. They stereotypically become healers because Sun Flames are one of the few types suited to it, but some choose to go… over routes.”

Tsuna frowns, quietly mulling that over for a minute. 

“You’re not a healer,” he finally responds.

Reborn’s smirk widens. “Technically, I  _ can _ heal if I want to. However, my Flames are… strong. Healing someone requires carefully applying a small amount of Flames in order to activate the innate healing capacity of the cells in the human body. If you activate them too much though… Well. It’s a good assassination method.”

That gets Tsuna to finally look away from Namimori, his gaze settling on Reborn for a moment instead. Reborn isn’t sure whether or not to be surprised when Tsuna doesn’t react further to his comment about killing. Considering how calm Tsuna is, it’s possible he’s too deeply immersed in his Flames to care though. 

Eventually, Tsuna huffs and flops back onto the roof so he can stare at the sky instead. 

“The other day, you said Skies usually ‘collect’ a set of ‘Guardians’,” Tsuna comments, almost absentmindedly. “You’re hoping I collect Ryohei as my Sun, aren’t you.” 

It isn’t a question.

Reborn decides to answer with a question anyway.

“What do you think of him?”

Tsuna hums, his eyes tracking various clouds as they drift across the sky and sunbeams poke through between them. “He’s alright,” Tsuna finally says. “Ryohei is... a lot. He’s loud and energetic and Hibari hates him. But… he doesn’t lie or hide or pretend to be anyone but himself.”

“Oh?” Reborn prods.

Tsuna casts him a glance as if to say  _ I know what you’re doing _ . But he answers anyway.

“Ryohei… Not many people like him. Everyone says he’s an idiot who loves boxing too much and who needs to calm down. And he is very protective of Kyoko. But... “ Tsuna trails off for a moment, quietly contemplative. “Ryohei doesn’t care,” he finally settles on, and Reborn hides a triumphant grin. “Ryohei is Ryohei, no matter what anyone says. He loves boxing and he loves his family and he refuses to hide it. He refuses to bend to what other people want, or be anyone but himself.” Tsuna’s mouth quirks into the tiniest smile. “I like that.”

This time, Reborn is the one who hums as he settles against Tsuna’s side as if to take a nap. He doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t need to. Tsuna understands enough, and now it’s up to him whether or not he wants to act on the potential bond.

* * *

Two days later when Tsuna and Ryohei meet up for early morning training again, Tsuna mentions that he and the others sometimes eat lunch on the roof, and invites Ryohei to join them if he wants.

Ryohei freezes for a moment, his expression startled as if he doesn’t know what to do with such an invite. Then he is grinning and shouting his acceptance and slinging an arm around Tsuna’s shoulders as he declares Tsuna “the best little bro ever!”. 

Tsuna locks up at the contact and Ryohei’s arm loosens as if to let go, but then Tsuna relaxes and leans into the contact a bit, his Sky Flames leaning almost shyly against Ryohei’s Sun Flames as well, and Reborn grins and slides back into the shadows to let them bond.

Then Ryohei starts loudly inviting Tsuna to join the boxing club in return and Tsuna splutters in protest, back to clumsy and awkward as his Sky Flames tiredly recede. 

Reborn only grins and watches the chaos unfold. 

* * *

Many miles away in Italy, a certain Don receives an information packet and drops the whole thing when he reaches one particular line of the profile contained with. 

“He’s  _ Cloudy!?” _ he shrieks, hurrying to pick up the pages as his subordinates watch on amused. Though also mildly concerned as their boss’s worry spikes. 

“Romario!” the Don calls, hurriedly scanning the rest of the profile as he starts scribbling something down. “Change of plans!”

Said mafioso smiles as he steps up to the desk. “Yes, boss?”

The Don just gives him a harried look and hands over the note. “Please arrange this ASAP.” Then he goes back to reading the files, muttering under his breath, “A _Cloudy_ Sky!? _Really_ , Reborn!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk how, but at some point in the last 6 months I decided Ryohei would be the kind that might be oblivious to a lot of things but not body language, and would be surprisingly (to some people) good at knowing how to read people. I mean, he's a fighter - surely he'd be good at catching people tensing or shifting slightly, whether that's to attack him or to shy away. of course, sometimes he pushes people anyway because it's fun to goad people (coughHibaricough) into sparring with him, but he can be super considerate when he wants to be. also, Kyoko. he'd hate himself if she ever shied away from him or he hurt her, so. 
> 
> cloudy!tsuna really appreciates this about ryohei. plus, y'know, the whole being himself and not giving a shit about what people think thing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter /really/ ran away with me. >_> I didn't intend for /any/ of this to happen but I started writing and, well. the characters wanted what the characters wanted? 
> 
> this is also a really long chapter for me, so apologies if it starts making less sense by the end. I seem to only be able to manage so many words/events in a chapter before my brain starts to lose the plot... also tenses are hard >_<

The first clue Tsuna gets that Reborn has organised more chaos is a letter in the mail. Mama is the one who finds it but the fancy, expensive envelope is addressed to “Tsunayoshi Sawada” so she hands it to him as he is running out the door for school.

Tsuna doesn’t open it until lunchtime. Yamamoto and Gokudera sit beside him, Hibari is lounging on the stairwell roof and Ryohei is running laps around the roof while he shadowboxes. Reborn is somewhere nearby, even if Tsuna isn’t sure exactly where he is.

“Tenth…” Gokudera says cautiously as soon as Tsuna pulls it out of his pocket. “Where did you get that?”

“Mama found it in the mail,” Tsuna replies. Noticing Gokudera’s worry, he flips the envelope over a couple of times to inspect it. “Why are you worried?” he asks.

Gokudera hums, glancing around at the others. “...It looks like it came from Italy,” he finally settles on. 

Tsuna just nods, having already had the same thought. 

“Italy?” Yamamoto asks. His tone is bright and his expression happy, but Tsuna can see the flint in his gaze. Yamamoto has picked up on their concern too. “I didn’t know you knew anyone over there Tsuna!”

“I have… family in Italy,” Tsuna explains hesitantly. “And Reborn is from there too.”

Speaking of the devil, Reborn suddenly pops up behind Gokudera, making the bomber jump and swear in a couple of languages. 

“You should open the letter, Dame-Tsuna,” Reborn interjects, his tone goading. “It’s from my previous student.”

Tsuna glances at Reborn in surprise but opens the letter as told. “You told them about me?” he asks.

Reborn smirks and jumps up onto Tsuna’s shoulder so he has a better vantage point for reading the letter. “It’s never too early to make allies,” Reborn lectures.

The letter is incredibly pretty. There’s a crest of arms embossed at the top and the contents are handwritten. The writer’s kanji isn’t perfect, but Tsuna can tell care was taken to write each character as well as possible. Tsuna is reluctantly impressed.

What is more impressive though is the faint sense of Flames on the paper. It’s barely more than a warm glow to Tsuna’s dulled senses, but it feels like someone imbued the ink with Flames. Tsuna can’t quite place what kind it is though…

“Dino Cavallone is a Sunny Sky,” Reborn mutters into Tsuna’s ear, “and Decimo of the Cavallone Famiglia.”

Tsuna nods, his heart rate rocketing as he reads the letter. The tone is very formal and Tsuna almost loses the meaning amongst the pretty prose but then it clicks and--

“He’s coming  _ here?” _ Tsuna hisses, surprising himself with how venomous his tone is.

In fact, Tsuna is suddenly irrationally  _ angry _ . The shock of it makes him pause for a moment to take stock of his own emotions. He can’t think of any logical reason to be so mad about a mafia Don visiting so he turns to check on his Flames instead and realises they’re  _ roiling _ . 

Footsteps sound behind him, combined with a murmured, “Omnivore?”

Tsuna doesn’t even look, he just holds the letter up for Hibari to grab. He’s too distracted with trying to understand his own reaction. The part of him that is possessive of Namimori - his Cloud Flames, as Reborn calls, them - is bristling defensively. However, it seems to mostly be in sympathy with his Sky Flames which are... 

“This is why Dino sent a letter ahead,” Reborn says quietly. “Clouds are always protective of whatever their territory is, but Skies can get defensive too. Especially around other Skies, because they can be a threat to their Guardians. As a Cloudy Sky, you get both sets of instincts. That’s why you’re reacting like this to the idea of Dino visiting.”

“Why would other Skies be a threat to my Guardians?” Tsuna asks, stuck on that as he realises that yes, the territorial instincts he’s fairly used to are suddenly focused almost as much on Hibari, Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei as they usually are on Namimori itself. 

Reborn turns to regard Tsuna, carefully watching his reaction. “Because Skies are usually more powerful than anyone else, and because sometimes Skies poach Guardians from other Skies.”

“ _ No,” _ Tsuna hisses, and this time he isn’t surprised. He can feel his Cloud and Sky Flames feeding off each other, merging to become a swirling maelstrom of  _ mine _ .

Thankfully, before Tsuna’s Flames become much more volatile, Hibari’s voice breaks through his thoughts.

“Omnivore.”

It isn’t a question but rather a way to get Tsuna’s attention. After so many years of knowing Hibari, it works immediately. 

Tsuna turns to face Hibari. And then feels his own body tense when he realises Hibari is almost vibrating with tension. 

“What’s wrong?” Tsuna asks with a frown. Gokudera and Yamamoto mirror his expression, and even Ryohei has drifted closer, now just shadowboxing on the spot.

Hibari stares at Reborn for a moment, clearly evaluating  _ something _ , before he turns back to Tsuna. “It was a Sky that made you sick.”

Tsuna’s blood turns to ice. His vision swims, and he barely notices Reborn leaping off his shoulder, face shadowed by his fedora. 

“...Tsuna?” comes Gokudera’s voice, very obviously worried now. “What does he mean?”

“Oh, I think I remember that,” Yamamoto murmurs, glancing between Tsuna and Hibari. “When we were kids, Tsuna got really sick for a couple of weeks, right? And when he came back he was all clumsy and quiet and....”

“Dame?” Tsuna finishes when Yamamoto trails off, a wry twist to his mouth. Yamamoto tries to smile back, but his expression isn’t much better than a grimace. 

“Hibari,” Reborn asks, cutting into the conversation. “How do you know it was a Sky?”

“Mother told me,” Hibari responds, staring at the Arcobaleno almost without blinking. 

Reborn sighs and gives in to his exasperation, letting his eyes slide closed for a moment. Then he’s straightening and gesturing for them all to sit. 

“Tsuna,” he says with caution in his tone, “you know why I’m here. I can either tell your friends everything, or I can keep it to the basics. It’s your choice.”

Tsuna stares back at his tutor, his heart racing and his mind spinning. Then he glances around at his friends - he gets a nod from Gokudera, confused but determined glances from Yamamoto and Ryohei, and a warning look from Hibari - and turns back to nod at Reborn. “No lies, no secrets. If you’re really mafia, I want them to know what they’re getting themselves in for.”

“Mafia--!?” comes a choked exclamation from Yamamoto.

Reborn just nods to Tsuna and starts talking. “My name is Reborn. I’m the world’s greatest hitman and I was sent to tutor Tsuna to become the tenth boss of the Vongola mafia famiglia.” Reborn casts a slow and deliberate glance over the group. “Everything else I have to say involves mafia secrets. Tsuna and Gokudera are already involved but the rest of you need to choose - you can walk away right now without any ramifications, or you can stay and swear to keep the mafia’s secrets for the rest of your lives.” His tone is dark and heavy, impressing the seriousness of his words on the group of teens.

Honestly, Reborn hadn’t wanted to do this any time soon. In fact, if Tsuna hadn’t been Cloudy, Reborn probably wouldn’t have given his friends this choice or any of the explanations he is planning to give them. But Tsuna  _ is _ Cloudy, and Reborn assumes he wouldn’t react well to his friends being tricked into joining the mafia. Plus Hibari obviously knows something, and if Reborn’s profiles on Yamamoto and Ryohei are correct, he can’t imagine they will say no. Still…

“Mafia, really?” Yamamoto asks again with a disbelieving laugh. He glances at Tsuna then Gokudera, and his smile slowly disappears as he takes in their serious faces.

“I’m… not sure I quite believe it yet either,” Tsuna murmurs, his brows furrowing. “But… Reborn’s explanations make sense, and Hibari was able to confirm some of what he’s told me. Plus…” Tsuna glances sideways at Gokudera, who suddenly looks uncomfortable as everyone’s attention flicks to him. 

“You’ve been calling Tsuna ‘Tenth’ for a while,” Yamamoto muses. “I always wondered what that was about…”

Gokudera visibly straightens, fixing his face into a scowl. “It would be disrespectful to address the Vongola heir as anything less.”

Yamamoto quirks an eyebrow at Gokudera, still confused, but it’s Reborn that explains. “Gokudera grew up in the mafia,” he says. “In fact, he’s a named hitman known mostly for demolition work. And he has been neutral until now, so he was a good candidate for a Guardian for Tsuna. That’s why I called him here.”

“Wow,” Yamamoto mutters, gazing at Gokudera in a new light - and with a glint of intrigue and danger in his eyes. “Well, I guess it’s time I got dad to teach me the sword then,” he adds more loudly. 

“Yamamoto!?” Tsuna exclaims, staring at his classmate in surprise and a small amount of horror. “Do you mean…”

Yamamoto laughs and one hand rose to rub the back of his neck. “We’re friends, aren’t we, Tsuna? I’d already decided to follow you, wherever you might go. The mafia is a bit of a surprise but eh. It could be fun!”

While Tsuna splutters, not knowing how to respond, Hibari steps forward to tap Yamamoto none-too-gently on the head with a tonfa. “Herbivore,” he mutters derisively.

“Hey!” Yamamoto exclaims, turning to grin a too-wide grin up at the prefect. “I’ll be an omnivore soon enough!”

Hibari just huffs and pointedly turns to face Tsuna instead. “I follow you,” he says, and Tsuna just nods. Between them, that’s all that needs to be said.

Finally, Tsuna turns to Ryohei. The boxer has been almost eerily silent and still during the conversation, and instead of his usual grin, he’s frowning heavily.

“Onii-san,” Tsuna says, having been asked to call Ryohei that a couple of days prior. “You know you can walk away and it won’t change our friendship, right?”

Ryohei frowns harder, staring at Tsuna for a moment. Then he huffs and his body relaxes. “I don’t understand complicated things,” he starts, “but I do understand one thing extremely well: fighting to protect someone. And if you’re getting involved in something dangerous like the mafia, then you’ll need people to protect you.” Ryohei glances around their little group then turns back to Tsuna with a smile. “What kind of big brother would I be if I let you do this alone?” he asks. Then he adds, “Plus, I should be able to fight all kinds of opponents this way!”

Tsuna huffs out a breath of amusement at Ryohei’s fighting-centric mind. Despite how… warm it makes him feels to have all his friends behind him like this, he has to ask, “Are you sure?” Tsuna looks at each of them in turn, his gaze heavy. “I know enough about the mafia to know there’s no backing out.”

Hibari just hums, but Tsuna translates it as, ‘are you an idiot?” and knows that Hibari is set on following him into the mafia now. 

Yamamoto grins back, moving so he can sling an arm around Tsuna’s shoulder. “You can’t get rid of us that easily!” he crows.

Gokudera casts a glare at Yamamoto, but responds, “Always, Tenth,” with a slight bow of his head.

There’s silence from Ryohei for a moment, then he steps forward to offer a fist for a fist bump. “I’m extremely in,” he says. Then he pauses, his expression settling into something quite serious. “Just, promise me one thing?” he asks.

“What?” Tsuna responds, mild panic overtaking his mind for the second before--

“Keep Kyoko out of it,” Ryohei says. It isn’t a question. It’s also the most serious Tsuna has ever heard or seen the boxer be. “I don’t want her to know anything about this unless she absolutely has to.”

“Deal,” Tsuna says, reaching out to bump his fist against Ryohei’s. “I don’t want to involve others if I can help it anyway.”

Ryohei’s expression smooths back into a grin before he turns to face Reborn. “Is there anything else we have to do to extremely agree?” he asks. 

Everyone’s attention returns to Reborn, who has been silently observing all this time. He is pleased with what he heard and saw. Tsuna’s Guardians are well on their way to bonding, and at a much faster rate than even Reborn had predicted. It boded well for their growth and synergy once the real hurdles arrived. 

For now though…

“No,” Reborn replied, settling into his lecturing tone. “Let’s start with Flames…”

* * *

After a short demonstration of his own Flames, like how Reborn had shown Tsuna, and explaining the different Flames of the Sky, Reborn had tried to briefly explain the Vongola and how Tsuna and his father fit into it. The revelation that Tsuna’s father was alive had sidetracked them for a couple of minutes - damn that Iemitsu and his uselessness - but overall it had gone well. 

And then they got back to how Tsuna had “gotten sick”.

Reborn paused and glanced around at the group, then sighed. He really hadn’t wanted to explain this so early, but needs must. 

“Your Sky Flames are sealed,” he told Tsuna, deciding to just rip the bandaid off. “I suspect it happened when you were quite young, and it’s why you ‘got sick’ and have been struggling with basic things ever since. Your Flames are essentially your life force after all. Living without them is like living without a limb. Or two.”

“Sealed!?” Gokudera yells, his background making the thought of someone doing that to anyone absolutely horrendous. “Who the fuck would do that? And why!?”

“Vongola,” Reborn answers. “And because of inheritance.”

“Inheritance?” Tsuna asks, obviously baffled. And horrified, as his mind processed what Reborn had said. Then, something clicked. “Wait, do you mean the Vongola were… worried about me inheriting?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Reborn demurs, “but I suspect Vongola Nono discovered your Flames and decided you might become a threat to his sons and their right to inherit, and so he sealed you. A Sky can only be sealed by a stronger Sky after all, and your Sky Flames, from what little I’ve seen, are quite strong. Besides, the knowledge of  _ how _ to seal someone else’s Flames is restricted, and there aren’t many people outside of the Vongola who would know how to do it.”

Tsuna slumped where he sat, leaning into the arm Yamamoto still had around his shoulders. “And now they want me to inherit the Vongola?” he muttered, not really intending to be heard.

“Nono had three sons who would have inherited before you. All three of them dying was always a risk, but it should have been incredibly unlikely. So, Nono probably thought there was more of a risk of you becoming a powerful enemy of the Vongola than an ally, and wanted to nip that in the bud.”

“Seals are breakable though, right?” Gokudera interjected, suddenly sitting forward as a thought came to him. “I remember stories about Seals and I’m sure some of them were broken!”

Reborn finally smiled for the first time since this conversation began. “Yes,” he confirmed. “In fact, your Seal is already starting to break, Tsuna. There were small cracks in it when I first arrived and shooting you with the Dying Will Bullet fractured it further. Exercising your Flames, as I have been getting you to do, has been slowly widening the cracks too. And it’s why I’ve invited Dino here.” 

Tsuna’s head snapped up at that. He had forgotten why this had all started, but of course, another Sky wanted to visit. 

“Why Dino?” he asked, some of the territorial rage he had felt earlier starting to trickle back in.

“He isn’t Vongola, so he doesn’t know anything about sealing Flames,” Reborn explained, “but he is a powerful Sky. He may be able to help with breaking the Seal. And it  _ is _ good to start making alliances, especially if you aren’t going to play nice with Nono.” Which Reborn knew was never going to happen, especially after this conversation.

Tsuna grumbled something intelligible, staring off at the horizon for a moment before glancing around at his friends. “Do you trust this don?” Tsuna asked, pinning Reborn with a serious expression. “Do you trust him to not hurt me or my friends or my territory? Trust him not to steal my Guardians or tell  _ Vongola _ anything we don’t want them to know?”

Reborn met Tsuna’s gaze steadily, feeling both his Sky and Cloud Flames boiling just under the surface. “Yes,” Reborn admittedly. “Dino Cavallone is a fair and just don, but he is also a fair and just man. He won’t deliberately cause harm to you or any of yours.”

Tsuna held the stare-off for another few seconds, searching Reborn’s gaze for any hint of a lie. Then, finally, he sighed and looked away, and his Flames started to calm. 

“Fine,” Tsuna muttered. “I’ll write back to let him know he can visit.” Tsuna glanced up at Hibari. “Will you help me write it?”

Hibari hummed. “Mother knows the formalities. I’ll ask.”

Reborn smiled, pleased that that was resolved and amused that Dino was apparently going to receive a very Japanese response. “Give the letter to me when you’ve finished drafting it, and I’ll check it for anything that might be misinterpreted due to cultural reasons.”

Tsuna nodded and, apparently done with the whole situation, finally disentangled himself from Yamamoto’s arm and flopped back onto the roof so he could stare at the sky. 

Reborn pretended not to hear Tsuna’s muttered, “What have I gotten myself into…” as he left, or Gokudera’s worried and Yamamoto’s bemused responses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dino appears next chapter, I swear! XD
> 
> also, happy new year everyone! hope you all stay safe but also get to do something fun to mark the start of 2021 :D
> 
> PS: almost forgot, the burst of inspiration that got me through this chapter and the last one was thanks to Sefiru's Hidden Sky series! if you haven't read that yet, can definitely recommend it! [read it here.](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1059935)


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